Only another one
by Yako-chan278
Summary: "You don't understand. You wouldn't, you'd never understand. What it's like to live in dark, captured, in fear of a death that could come too easily. And no one fights back. Except one, of course. That one is me. The other? He's the only other one, but he's not of my concern." Vocaloid/Genderbend.
1. Chapter 1

**Oh my god.**

**It cannot be stopped. A new story has commenced. I'm already getting ideas for two more oh Gumi help me.  
I'm going to be excited for the first two or three chapters, then I'm going to run dry and write a new story. GAH. Save me.**

**But anyway, yeah. Hope you'll enjoy this one!**

* * *

"Be quiet, beast." The guard grunted, pulling on her chains as he dragged her forward, refusing to stop for her to rest. "Just keep walking and do as you're told." He yanked the chain again and plodded along, though the dark canyons and on the hot, dusty road. He was going to take her with him, no matter what. Whatever she did couldn't tell him otherwise. The 'beast' reluctantly crawled after him, baring her teeth at anyone that dared to look at her. Few did, as most rumbled by in their carts, looking away, fathers and mothers shielding their child's innocent eyes from the beast walking alongside them.

Eventually the two reached their destination. She looked up at the large, dark building. It was all bricks and no windows, but from inside she could hear the howls, the lonely sniffs, the thumps of guard's boots as they patrolled the area. The large door swung open, and her ears twitched as the metal unlocked. She wasn't used to hearing metal scrape against each other.

"With me." The guard said gruffly and pulled her forward. No other guards bothered to look. They stood straight and held their staff and said nothing. They were used to it. Through dark corridors they went, past hundreds of doors, being banged and scratched on, where she could hear the desperate wails and angry growls from behind. Lower and deeper they went, down spiraling staircases, past small doors and big doors, wood and metal, until they reached an average-sized door.

"What is this?" She asked cautiously, looking up at the guard. She couldn't see any eyes, and therefore no emotion, behind his heavy black helmet.

"Shut up. Filthy beast." He kicked her side, and she whimpered. "Get in there while I let you live." He unbolted the door and pulled off her chain, and pushed her in. "That ought to keep you comfy, eh?" He laughed heavily and slammed the door shut, locking it tight. She sat in the dark room, waiting, listening to the footsteps padding away. Once it had quietened, she leapt at the door and hissed and screeched, scratching at the wooden frame. "It won't work," said a voice coolly from behind her. "Believe me, I've tried."

She turned and frowned, squinting into the inky darkness until she could make out two blue eyes. She stood up and sniffed the air. She knew this smell. She... "You are one of the Kin." She said slowly.

The eyes widened, and a boy pulled himself out of the darkness. He looked pale and thin, but she could smell his air, the ears and tail, they were the same. He peered at her. "I thought the rest of the Kin were all gone."

She leaned closer to sniff him. "So did I."

He turned and seated himself on the cold floor. She looked down and lifted her hand. She hadn't realized how cold it was in the cell. "They mocked me for being the only one." He said softly. The tip of his tail curled, and he looked away, ears drooped. "Laughed. Ridiculed. They were idiots." He shook his head, trying to rid of the bad memory.

She frowned, and looked up. There was a wooden ledge held up by metal bars onto the wall, which she reckoned served purpose as a bed of some sort. She jumped up onto it and felt a blanket, curling up underneath it. "Then I have no talk or quarrel with you." She closed her eyes. "So do shut up and leave me be."

He stood up, glaring at her balled up figure. "That's it? You're not happy that you're not the only one of the Kin left in existence? And here I am..." He threw up his arms. "You're just going to lay there?"

"Like I said, I have no talk or quarrel with you. I don't find it pleasing to talk to one. Perhaps you've been cushy, residing here, but you're not in the mood I am. So do me a favor and sit down."

He growled. "Then you are indeed the beast the guard claimed you to be."

She said up immediately, her long teal hair spilling around her waist and down onto the floor. She glared back, blue eyes glowing. His blue eyes were full of arrogance, she could tell. "Excuse me?" She retorted. "Beast? Me? Why don't you try looking at your reflection?"

"At least I'm grateful, witch." He sneered.

"Grateful? Grateful? What can you be grateful for here?" She threw off the blanket and it landed next to him. She crouched, growling at him, teeth bared. "Sure, get taken in the middle of the night trying to survive and be treated like shit, why don't ya? Well you've obviously never seen your mother ripped into two. You've never seen the blood of your loved ones spill across your hands. You've never seen the metal disappear into one's body, the warmth disappearing, you've obviously never been grateful for anything in your goddamn life. I can tell. Your eyes tell me everything."

For a moment, he looked taken aback. He took a step backwards, looking up at the girl in front of him, staring down at him, eyes peering back so deep into his, he almost felt like she was digging out secrets just by looking at him."Oh..." He gasped, then frowned. "Well. Fine." He spat. "I don't believe you've ever smiled, have you? Ever laughed? Ever had fun? Ever just tried to be... Free?"

"FREE!?" She screeched. "How could I? Especially when there's someone like _you_ around!?"

He prowled back onto the ledge he had been lying on earlier. "We'll see what you have to say when the guards come for you. I'd like to see you hiss in pain at your trial."

"Shut up, male." She huffed, covering her ears, watching as he curled himself up. Why couldn't everyone just shut up, just for once?

...

"Wake up." Another prod. "Wake up, beast, you've got to be tried." This time, the metal wrung around her wrists forced her awake. "Get off your damned arse and come with me. Your trial starts soon." She groaned and pulled herself off the ledge, and was forced out of her cell. Looking back, she saw a sly grin as she was taken away.

She ended up in an empty court, empty except for a bed. It was a large bed, filled up with straw. It looked a bit scratchy, but were they going to let her lay down? She'd have liked to lay down. She was still tired from the hike they had made her do the day before. "Get on the bed." The guard ordered. She did as she was told. He strapped her onto the bed, and looked up. "She's ready." She turned slightly to watch several monks stream themselves into the room. The guard walked back to the door and watched, while the monks stood in circle around her. "Now don't you try anything funny."

The monks raised their arms and chanted, first from a few words that she could decipher, and then into a completely different language. Her eyelids grew heavy and tired, and voices were telling her to go to sleep. It didn't seem likely that they would kill her just then, so she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

...

"I tire of your presence."

She shot up. What? She was lying in an empty room. Or what seemed like a room. It was white everywhere. Something felt wrong. She touched her ears, but they were... Gone. No! She clasped her head, felt her ears, but they had shrunk, gone down to human size. No! No! Her tail was gone, her teeth were no longer sharp. She wasn't human. She couldn't have been. "Why do they send you here?"

She looked up. A large creature was seated in front of her. Although she couldn't see it very well, she could feel an enormous flow of power coming from it, looking down at her. It had grey eyes, but they glowed in the white room. There was a large yellow ring around it's body, and it looked down at her like she was just a speck of dust, but it's voice wobbled and trembled, as if it was afraid. "Who are you?" She whispered. "Where am I? What have you done to me?"

"I tire of your presence, young kin. You shouldn't be here."

"But... Where am I? How do I go back? Who are you?" She tried to walk towards him, but her legs couldn't hold her, and her knees buckled as she sank to the ground. "What have you done to me?"

"I have done nothing. This realm shows you yourself. There is nothing I can do. Begone." He waved her off, simply dismissed her.

"How do I... Go back?"

The creature was silent for a long time. "I can't get to you." He said, softly at first. But then his eyes widened, and his voice rose. "I... I can't get to you. Why can I not get to you? WHY? WHY!?" She felt the room shake around her as she assumed he stood up, reaching towards her.

"Stay away!" She screeched, jumping backwards. Again she fell to the ground. "Go away..."

"I tire of your presence, young kin." She heard, as the room turned dark around her. "Find away to reach into yourself. Then perhaps I shall find your presence much more interes-"

"ENOUGH."

Her vision had already faded, but she had seen the dark matter attacking the creature as everything faded away.

...

"You're special." A voice purred, touching her ears. She opened her eyes, to see a tall, think lady looking down at her. Her eyes were slits and her skin was pale, but she seemed healthy, and very much alive. "Amazing. It's a wonder Grioten couldn't get to you. And to think that the last remaining Kin would be worth so much. Aren't you happy?"

"Stay away from me." She hissed, slapping the woman's hand away.

"Oh, but of course, we mustn't treat our lovely Kin with such insolence. She deserves to be treated like the rest." Her eyes darkened. "Take her to a job. Anything will do. Don't be picky."

"What? Wait... Hey!" Two guards grabbed her arm as she writhed and kicked, screaming at the woman.

...

'Zecorus, Sector 4, Marsh.' A sign read as she was pushed forward. She gazed at the swampy marshland before her. Was this still part of the dark castle? Another guard pushed her forward, and her feet sank into the muddy water. "Go help the Lumiere out, eh?" He suggested as he laughed, walking away, disappearing into the greens behind her. She looked around, and only then noticed the shapes bobbing in and out of the water.

"Hello?" She called out, taking a step forward, into the silt, dirt pooling around her. A figure swam up to her under the water, as a pink-haired torso surfaced, peering at her.

"Ah..." She swam closer and examined her. "You are one of the Kin, are you not? I thought they were extinct." She smiled gently and pulled herself forward, a sparkling tail flicking out of the water. It seemed so out of place in the dirty marsh. "We have another Kin here. He works in the other sector, of course. A boy your age."

She looked away. "I've met him." She growled softly.

The pink-haired lady nodded. "Good, good. We do need a new breed of Kin around her." She winked. "If you know what I mean." The girl looked startled, and she laughed. "Oh, I'm just kidding! Newly captured, are you? Yes, it's a tough experience for everyone, especially when they're tried. Oh, I remember when I had to fight Grioten. Was he a pain!"

"You... Fought him?" She asked.

Her tail flicked through the water as she turned, sending a rain of droplets. "Well, yes, of course. Didn't they try you?"

"Well... They did. But we didn't fight. He said he couldn't get to me."

"Oh... Oh my god." She swam backwards slightly. "That's what he s- Well, that's alright. I'm afraid this is the job you're going to be doing from now on forth, though. Welcome to Sector 4."

"I... What?"

"You'll get used to it. I'm Luka."

She sighed. "I'm... Miku..."

"That's nice. 'Future', right? That's good. Here, I'll teach you the basics. And I'll explain while you're at it. You've gotta know more about this place. And you'll find out sooner or later, whether you like it or not."

...

"It's basically a prison here. What's that? Why I'm so light-hearted? Well, I wouldn't really call it light-hearted. But, you know, spending four years in this marsh makes it go by. Yes, I came here around your age. You'll get used to it in the end. And some have been here longer, anyway. The people that run this place, they call themselves The Glory of The Ones. Or just The Ones, for short. But glorious? Bah! Nothing glorious about them. Anyway, they mostly capture anything that isn't human. We're the devil's spawns to them apparently. It's sad. They've rounded up hundreds of us and trapped us in this prison. Hand me that over there, would you?

"Mostly they make us work here for the rest of our lives, or at least until we agree to worship their Goddess, which is painful. Literally. And this Goddess of theirs probably doesn't exist, and those in her 'light' have to follow all their customs, which is as annoying as hell. So we reside here. Although I wouldn't really call it residing, but there's no where for us left to go. They make us do the work that feeds, houses, and clothes their citizens.

"But what do we get?" She stopped and sighed. "Nothing. Nothing at all, of course. We're just forced to work, all day and night. We're actually lucky, I've heard. The prisons in other regions send their prisoners to the knife if they do a little wrong. Here a lot of people have spoken out, but... Not quite enough. And what are we to The Ones? Nothing, of course. We are filth to them."

Miku pulled off a vine and handed it to Luka. "So then, why hasn't anyone fought back? Started a revolution? There must be thousands of you. Surely you'd be able to overpower them, especially with your magic."

"Oh, dear, if we could, this place would be in ruins by now." Luka shook her head. "But we're more outnumbered than you think. And overpowered. This castle, it's been charmed with a magic dampening spell. No matter what we try, we can't use our magic. Why do you think the water here's so dirty? If I could use magic I'd definitely clean it all up. And besides, we're so weak, dear. We hardly eat. Hardly sleep. And a lot of our trials leave us in shambles... Oh...

"But that boy..." Her eyes brightened slightly, almost filling with hope, but it died away. "The other Kin... He's been here a lot longer than the rest of us. Since an infant, I've heard. Believed he was the only Kin left. Sad. My sisters and I, we tried to comfort him, but he wouldn't hear of us. The other creatures had gone too far with him. He was bullied for being the only Kin and believing that he could fight his way out, and now... Now..."

"I see..." Miku looked down. She felt a twinge of guilt, but swallowed it. And it was definitely not going down with her pride. "Taking us until there's none left in the wild, huh? No one to be... Free."

"Free." Luka winced. "The dream of everyone here. It pains me to know that that's the only thing we can never have. Freedom."

The two fell silent as they continued their work, although Miku had no idea what they were doing. She watched the other Lumiere weave through the branches and weeds, swimming through the murky waters. She watched the nature, still in the lifeless area. She watched until she could watch no longer, until the guard yelled at them, and everyone was being pulled away.

"Where are we going?" Miku asked Luka as she was hustled through a wet corridor full of guards, Lumiere, and other fishy creatures.

"Lunch." Luka said simply. "One thing we can look forward to, at least." She gave Miku a weak smile. "At least there we can talk to people. There are a few others I'd like to introduce. It'd do good for a newly captured one to have more than one friend."

Miku smiled back. "Of course. Thanks, Luka."

They made their way into a huge hall, where there were tables filled with all sorts of beings, large and small, in all sorts of colors. "We can choose where to sit. It's nice. We're very lucky, really. Come with me." Miku followed Luka, who seemed to have no problem gliding through the hall without feet. She arrived at a table where there were already a few people seated. "Hey girls. We got a new Kin. This one's Miku."

The two blonde ones looked up immediately. "Really?" The one with the shorter hair gasped. Her hair was tousled and covered with leaves and vines, and her face was muddy and scratched. The other blonde next to her, long hair tied up into a ponytail, looked curiously at Miku.

"Yes... Are you... Are you twins?"

"We're sisters." The short-haired one said. "We're Eartheins. I'm Rin, that's Lenka. I thought Kins were extinct. It's so cool that there's another one. Ohoho, I bet Mikuo's gonna be excited."

"Mikuo." Miku repeated. "That's his name?"

The blue haired girl sitting next to Lenka looked up. "The other Kin. It's a boy. He's the only other one here. You've already met him?"

"I... Yes." She said, noticing the shiny scales on her arms and face. "I can't say we get along too well."

"Oh! That's a pity!" Luka laughed, but quietened as five trays were slid towards them, piled with some sort of pink slop and green custard. And the chef's special curiously-shaped biscuits, apparently. As soon as the waiter was gone, Luka smiled widely again. "Why are you looking at Kaiko like that? Yeah, Kappa are rare, but she's cute, ain't she? We've got plenty."

Kaiko sighed and turned down to her tray, sticking her fork into the slop. "You don't like Mikuo?" Lenka asked, finally opening her mouth. "I thought he'd like to see another Kin."

"Well, you're wrong." Miku said huffily, cautiously taking a bite of the green custard. "Just because we share cells doesn't mean we have to get alo-"

"Ohhh you share cells!?" Rin burst out. "Oh my god! Luka did you hear that? Ah, I know what's going on!"

Miku glared at Rin. "What exactly is it you Earthiens do? Throw flowers at each other? Swing on vines? No wonder you're so muddy. A lot of guards must get mad at you."

Rin smiled, shrugging. "Well, they do."

"And look who's here now." Luka said, turning around. She stuck her tail out, and suddenly there was a loud thud as something hit the floor. A tray full of slop flew up into the air, and Miku caught it before it landed on her. "Ah, a true Kin always has good reflexes. Isn't that right, Mikuo?"

The teal-haired boy looked up and glared at Luka. "Shut u-" He noticed Miku. "Oh. It's you." He stood up and kicked Luka's tail away, ignoring the other creatures that were trying not to laugh next to him. "And I think that's my lunch, thank you very much."

"Well you're welcome." She stuck her tongue out at him, and dumped the tray on his face.

"YOU BLOODY-" Mikuo jumped up, wiping the pink slop off his face and glared at Miku, breathing heavily. "I'm going to fu-"

"Okay. Okay. Guys." A small boy popped up between them. "Please. Don't. Food fights are way too cliche nowadays."

"Hi Len!" Rin called. Lenka waved shyly.

"Hi Rin. And guys... Just... Don't. Okay?" He held his hands up as he backed off, looking at each of them, and then running away.

"Fine." Mikuo hissed, turning and walking away. "Maybe today, girl. But you won't be so lucky next time."

"I don't need luck. You're probably going to run away and trip again."

"GAH." He stomped away furiously, and Miku turned, crossing her arms. The four girls watched both of them.

"Oh my god." Luka gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth. The sisters and Kaiko turned to look at her. "I ship them. So. Hard."

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**Oh god. Ohhh Luka.**

**This is a bad idea.**

**Well, um, I hope you liked it? Also I have an idea for a new story. Stop me before it's too late.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay! I finally managed to write out the next chapter because I was bored! **

Reviews

**Awesomeangel**  
Try me :D

* * *

The guards brought everyone else back after that. Luka waved as they pulled the sisters and Kaiko away, and the two got sent back to their zone. Luka set herself back into the water, and Miku seated herself on the sand. "So everyday you just do the same work?" Miku asked, plucking out a weed and handing it to Luka. She looked around at the rest of the strange plants growing out of the water. Other than the seaweed and the vines climbing up the dark trees, there were plants that could have been mint or parsley, plants with red-tipped leaves and yellow bulbs, thorny stems and oddly shaped leaves.

Luka sighed. "Well, yes, pretty much. Occasionally some get switched out for other work, which is why in some zones there is a different mix of species. Here, it's just Lumiere, a few Kappa and some Loches." She held out her hand and Miku delivered another batch of weeds. "And you, of course." She added.

"So I'm stuck here?"

Luka nodded.

"What are you even doing?"

The Lumiere flicked her tail slightly and pushed herself through the murky waters of the swamp. She waved her hand at the trunk of one of the trees, which had been hollowed out to form a shelf. It was filled with jars of all shapes and sizes, and they were filled with things Miku couldn't quite identify.

Some of the jars were filled with things that seemed vaguely human, others that seemed like they used to be human. Some jars were filled with yellow powders or oily red liquids, and then things with petals or thorns or bones. Another contained a small oblong shape, but she couldn't tell if it was pink or blue, and it seemed to be moving around slowly, like it was alive. Alive and pulsating. She looked at the others. Many other jars held the same concoction, but somehow each was different.

Miku was intrigued. "What are they?" She asked, carefully wading through the swamp and taking a jar from the shelf. It was filled with a beautiful deep blue liquid, and it seemed to look like the sky, shimmering, but somewhere inside there was something in it. Beautiful, but not edible, and definitely not the nice kind of beautiful.

Luka gave her a look, and she hastily put the jar back on the shelf. "The Lumiere have the knowledge of natural healing. A lot of people in the village are getting sick, so they make us make the medicine. Of course they don't tell us what the people are getting infected with, so we just make up whatever remedies we can with the crappy plants they throw at us."

She then took a smaller jar off the shelf and held it in front of Miku, smirking slightly. "When we're waiting for the supplies, however…" She shook the jar, and the liquid changed color. Miku looked alarmed, and peered closer, trying to sniff it. "We have a bit of fun of course. _Poifondum._ You know, one of those things that released gas clouds. Doesn't work 100%, but it's fun to throw at each other. A bit of fun when the guards aren't looking, right?"

Miku looked at the liquid, which slowly dissolved back to its original color. "And you don't throw this at the guards why?"

"Think we'd try?" Luka said. "This stuff is difficult to make, might as well use it to enjoy this horrid life. And if we threw this at one of the guards we'd be sent to the knife no doubt."

She turned back to where she had been earlier, an alchemy station of some sort, and ripped out a chunk of thorny plants, receiving several cuts on her palm. She ignored them. Miku frowned, and then realized Luka already had cuts on her arms and around her waist. "Why do you have cuts?"

Luka looked towards Miku's direction, but not directly at her. "Plants. Guards. Thorny bushes. I'm used to them." She turned back.

Miku said nothing, gazing at the shadows of the other Lumiere swimming through the murky waters of the swamp. Most of them seemed like they were simply swimming through the waters and not doing anything else. Other beings were amongst the trees, plucking leaves and what not. She looked up, towards the top of the trees, but all she could see was a blur of green and fog. Luka placed a plant on Miku's lap. "_Posciden._" Miku looked down at it. "It's edible."

"Thanks, but no." Miku placed it back into her hands. "I only eat meat." Her eyes flickered towards Luka's tail, and then back to her face. "No offense."

"No, I'm pretty sure Kin are omnivores." She put the plant back into Miku's hands. "The food from lunch isn't that filling, and you didn't eat it anyway. _Posciden_ is healthy, and it fills you up. You have to eat something."

Miku huffed and reluctantly began chewing on one edge of the leaf. Luka nodded. "See? It's not that bad. There's a bit of dry land up there, so just rest a bit and-"

A guard yelling and the clanking of chains interrupted her. There was a thud and the heavy metal door closed behind them. Miku put down her snack and turned. Someone was lying across the wet sand, quivering slightly. Miku and crawled towards it, sniffing. She circled around the being, and Luka watched from a distance. There was still no response, so she prodded it.

At once, the figure shifted and shot up, looking Miku in the eye. Her blue eyes focused into hers, and long purple hair fell over her shoulders. Miku hissed and took a step back. She looked at Miku, seeming vaguely puzzled, but then relaxed. "Not a male." She turned towards Luka. "Not a male."

Miku titled her head slightly. What was up with being a male? And why did she take so long to figure out that she wasn't? "Who are you?"

"Another mutant dragged here of course." The lady smiled bitterly, and pulled her hair up into a ponytail, leaving the rest of her bangs down by her ears.

"You know about this place?"

She nodded. "Tried to avoid it." She then sat down on the spot where Miku had been earlier, dipping her webbed feet into the dark water. "And the guards were clever. Covered their eyes and ears."

"What's your name, Siren?" Luka asked.

The lady pushed her fringe back to cover her eyes. "Ah. Clever Lumiere." She nodded at her tail. "It's Gakuko."

"A Siren? Those are one of the things that can sing good, right? And then ensnare people?" Miku asked, seating herself next to the purple-haired lady.

Gakuko nodded. "That's right..." Her blue eyes took notice of Miku's tail, and they flicked up to her twitching ears. "You're not a Kitsune."

Miku looked away. "No... I'm not."

"I thought Kin were extinct."

She sighed. "Me too."

"And it's a wonderful time for her to be alive!" Luka added cheerily. "We've got another one of them here. It's a boy." She winked at Gakuko, and the Siren smiled, understanding.

"Oh! Now that's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Not good." Miku looked sternly at Luka, but she smirked. "We don't get along. Besides, he's a lazy idiot." She held up her hands and checked them, for no apparent reason.

"There's a name for that. And there's a fine line between love and hate." Gakuko said sneakily. **((Ye it's called being tsundere.))**

Miku stuck her tongue out at her. "Haha, very funny miss hypnotism."

"_Duchess_, my dear. I was a respected one there." She grinned and flicked her hair. "I knew I'd wind up here sooner or later, so I already devised something. Let's get down to work."

…

Mikuo grunted as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. He looked towards Rinto and Len, who were doing fine in the sun. Of course. They were Solins, weren't they? They were used to spending hours out in the sun without breaking a sweat. Kins preferred the dark and quiet of the night, but no, the guards just had to pick out the day shift for him, right under the hot sun. It was even worse on rainy days, but at least everyone else could share his miserableness.

The 'monsters' in their zone had been forced to break away rock after rock from the mountains behind the jail, and any bit of scrap found within them was to be delivered straight back to the guards. He looked at the pickaxe he was holding, rusted and dented, but the guards refused to replace it.

And that girl. She was so annoying. And the guards had to throw her into his cell, where it was the only place he could curl up quietly without anyone to disturb him. Then she had to come along.

He scowled at the thought of her grinning face, mocking, tempting him as she waved her long teal hair. He brushed his dirty hand through his. She had the same colored hair as he did, and that made him feel angrier. She was a Kin as well. They were probably the only other two left in existence, and of course they weren't going to get along well.

He glanced back at the brothers. Len's pants were on fire, and Rinto was laughing maniacally. A blonde girl stared at them from a distance. The kind of things that would happen everyday in their zone, they didn't bother him. He turned back towards the rough granite in front of him, and he threw his pickaxe into the rock, and most of it broke off. In his mind, Miku laughed at him. He could see her mocking his strength already. He growled and hit the rock again, over and over, again and again, straining his tired muscles.

Mikuo dropped the pickaxe, and then fumbled for it again, ignoring his quivering hands. He was already shaking, but he wanted to prove to her that he was stronger, better than her. It was all in his imagination of course.

The Kin looked at the pickaxe, even more dented than earlier, then back towards the rock, which had been broken to bits. But there was still plenty of mountain left to go through. But amidst the dirty chunks of rock, something was glittering inside. Mikuo frowned, and tried to pull it out, but it was incased in too much dirt for him to grab it. It seemed silver, or it could have been just metal, but when he touched it, he recoiled immediately.

It was his find. He was going to keep it. He mustn't act like there was something there, or the guards were going to get suspicious. So he kept digging, breaking the rocks, trying to pretend like he was doing his daily work. Whatever was in there, it was going to be his.

That was an average Kin. They always wanted to hoard what they could find. If they saw it first, it was theirs. Miku. He frowned. She hadn't told him her name, of course, but he overheard it as he made their way past their table to get his lunch back. Miku. Why did he think of her? He growled again and continued to hack away at the rocks.

Len ran past him screaming in his burning pants, and then ran in a small circle, over and over, screaming continuously. _Idiot_, Mikuo sighed to himself. Eventually his high-pitched screaming managed to alert the guards, and they managed to douse the flames. Rinto was already rolling on the ground in laughter, and the guards had to kick his waist to stop him from laughing.

"Some animals, eh?" He heard a guard grunt as they marched back to their posts past him. Yeah. He could say the same about Miku. And just her name in his head, the whole thing started again, and he was pounding at the rock, harder and harder with each swing, body tensed and agitated.

But…

Why did he get so angered just at the thought of her? Did he really want to compete? With the only kind left of his species, especially one who was female? Well, yes, of course. That was his nature – competitive. But that could have applied to anyone. Why did he have to feel so fired up around her? Just that made him mad, and the questions branched out even more, and the more he asked, the angrier he got. Angrier and angrier, swinging harder against the stone, unstoppable.

For the rest of the day, that's what he did, hacking away at the rock around the shiny thing, and then carefully picking the stone out when the guards weren't looking. All day, agitated at just the thought of her, breaking rocks until nightfall.

As the guards grabbed the chains around his wrists, he felt too tired to argue this time. All that work had finally taken its toll, and he didn't even bother snapping back at the guy with the red hair who thought he looked so tough all the time. He had been swinging his pickaxe around all day, bragging that one day he'd invent a game where one would use a piece of wood to hit a ball, or something like that. And he constantly went on about how he'd win some girl's heart from a different zone. He annoyed Mikuo, but he was too tired to bother about him now.

He finally made his way back to the cell without collapsing. By the time he got in, Miku was already waiting, sitting on her ledge. He didn't look at her, and simply made his way back to his bed. "Hm. You're tired." She said simply.

He was too tired to argue back. Of course she hadn't started anything, but it seemed like a provoke to him. "You think?"

"I know."

He sighed, folding his tail over. "Why are you so annoying?"

She glared at his form, partly hidden by the shadows. Only strips of pale moonlight fell into the cell, one of the beams lightening his face. She glared at that beam. "Oh, well, I don't know. Why are you so stupid?"

He sat up. His arms and legs were aching, but a simple provoke would anger him easily. "Shouldn't you be asking that to yourself?"

"Only a stupid person would say so, agree?" She smiled.

"Only a stupid person would keep answering in questions!" He spat, standing up, and then falling back towards the wall.

She scoffed. "A stupid person would definitely outwork himself just 'cause he's stupid." She flicked her hair at him.

He glared back at her, leaning against the wall. He was tired, and he could barely afford to stand up. But just looking at her pissed him off. "Well, you…" He started, holding up his hand to point at her. "You… You…"

"Only a stupid person wouldn't be able to think of a simple insult." She finished for him, grinning widely.

He growled at her, but no water for the whole day made it come out as a quivering mew. She burst out laughing and jumped down from her ledge, placing her hands on her hips and she stood in front of him. "Silly boy. You may be a Kin, but you're definitely not my kind." She laughed at her own joke. "You're not as clever as you think you are." She poked his chest, and he hissed at her.

"You sound like a kitten." She mocked.

"Yeah? Well you're a bi-"

"Kitten~!" She cut in, and patted his face. "Meow~ Meow~ Meow~ Little ball of fur, aren't you?"

"Shut up!" He snapped, trying to swat her hands away, but he was too tired to lift his arms. "J-Just shut up!"

"Soft kitten, warm kitten, little ball of fur~" She sang.

He opened his mouth to say something, but only air came out. She continued singing, in that voice he found annoying. But now that voice seemed soothing and calming, and for a moment, he felt drowsy.

"What."

"What!?" He snapped alert, catching himself. He had almost fallen asleep to her singing, and now he hated himself for that. He hated her. "Ugh, just get out of my sight." He pushed her away and sunk back to the floor.

Miku looked down at him, still shaking from exhaustion. She felt a twinge of pity for him, but shook it away. He didn't like her, she didn't have to like him. Right?

She jumped up onto her ledge and curled up, just as the guard blew out the last oil lamp illuminating their area.

Right.

* * *

**Wow.**

**Well.**

**I'm out.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Uhh hi.**

Reviews

**HarmonianTraveller  
**Haha, of course! Right on it~ Thanks!

* * *

Mikuo awoke.

Tempted by the source of light draining into the cell, he sat up, blinking in the dusky sunlight. He stretched, scratching the back of his ears as he sat up. Out of the window he could barely make out the small wisps of fog and clouds curl around the untouched tips of the mountain, where layers of hills rolled, basking under the sunlight. The light that found it difficult to reach their cell.

The strips of sunlight from the window was pointing towards the other end of the cell, and he crawled over towards it groggily, lying under the light. For a few quiet minutes, he could relax under the sunlight, before it moved again. He sat up, looking agitated as he made his way towards the light. But once again the sunlight refused to hold its position, and let itself filter over the long teal hair instead.

Mikuo looked at it. Miku's hair, although dull and dirty, seemed to shimmer brilliantly in the sunlight. He squinted, bending down and sniffed it. He retracted immediately, keeping his hands away from her hair. The scent that wafted through it, through her, seemed all too familiar, in a way he didn't like. And it confused and angered him at the same time, and deep down, trying to refuse it, it scared him. He shot a look at Miku. She was still curled up on the ledge, sleeping blissfully, unaware.

He stood up and looked down at her pale face, caked with dirt and other sediments. When awake, she seemed fierce and hostile, but in her sleep, she seemed so innocent and soft, like a worried child lost amongst the crowd. Somehow he was tempted to do something. But what? The girl, the only one left of his species that angered him so much... His features softened. Looking around him, he leaned down and placed a hand on her forehead, which felt nice even though she didn't appear to be sick. Miku stirred, and he retracted his hand immediately. Seeing she continued to sleep, he moved his hand away from her pale skin and let his fingers comb through her long teal hair. He brushed against one of her ears, definitely one that belonged to a Kin.

She made a muffled noise, and at once her eyes snapped open. "Y-You-!?" She gasped and jumped upwards, swatting his hand away before crouching on the ledge. Mikuo stumbled backwards, holding his arm over his face. "Why the hell are you watching me!?"

"I-I-I'm not!" He spluttered, hissing at her, moving back to his bed on the cold floor. "Damn it. Pest."

She peered at him from a distance, before a strange smile crept over her face. "Oh my." She giggled. "Are you blushing?"

Mikuo's eyes widened, and he placed a hand over his face, which was indeed warming up. "I... N-NO!" He turned around, slapping his hands over his cheeks, which were starting to burn up even more. Why? And it wasn't just his face either, somewhere inside him was the same burning feeling, the same as yesterday, only this time it was making him feel nervous. "I-I am n-not! Shut up!"

"Hmf. You're funny." She jumped down from her ledge, standing directly behind him. She grabbed his head, forcing him to turn to face her. "And indeed you are. Now isn't that a lovely shade of red?"

"I-I said SH-SHUT UP!" He exclaimed, pushing her away.

"Oh, c'mon, kitty." Pulling herself towards him, she grabbed his shirt by the collar and pinned him against the wall before he could squirm away. Mikuo craned his head backwards, trying to stay as far from her as possible, clawing at her arms, but she refused to let go. She wouldn't budge. She simply stood her ground, and for a fleeting moment, he wondered in awe how strong she was. He shook his head and started thrashing again. Why would he think that? She was a girl. She was weak.

And just then, she looked upwards, finally catching his gaze. Mikuo fell still. Her fiery eyes pierced through his, and he suddenly found it impossible to look away. Why? She was looking him in the eye, that was it. But her eyes. They seemed to be looking further than just the outer part of his eyes, she seemed to be looking much, much deeper than that. Something started to churn at the back of his mind, and he started to grow nervous. What was she doing? All in that moment, she seemed to search into the depths of what was behind his eyes, before she released him.

"Wh-What..." She gasped, stumbling backwards and looking up at him in shock, but he bent his head downwards. "What the... What was that?"

He crouched on the ground, trying to calm down the blurry images churning in the inside of his flustered mind **((Get it pffft))**. He shook his head. "What did... What did you do to me?" The pictures slowly starting to re-arrange themselves, pictures he had thought he'd forgotten. "Why... Why am I remembering this?" His head snapped upwards, glaring at her. "What did you do!?"

"I didn't do anything!" She spat at him, slinking away. "You were the one who- Ah-" All of a sudden her face blanked, and she flopped forward, falling to the ground with a soft thud.

Mikuo's ears flicked upwards, and he looked at her in shock. Miku lay still, not moving a muscle. He frowned and crawled towards her, poking her shoulder, but she made no movement. He lifted his hand. Why did she faint? It was her fault, but could that have possibly taken up her energy? He breathed out. Why did he feel bad about this? "Miku..." He nudged her arm, but she didn't respond. "Miku, are..." He growled to himself. He was going to regret this. "Are you okay..? Wake up..."

And yet the female lay silently on the ground, and he started to get nervous. He pushed the feeling away, but guilt gnawed at him. Was this really his fault? More questions were constructing in his mind, and he nudged her again. "M-Miku..." He circled around her, trying to think of what to do. Call the guards? No. They wouldn't do anything. At the most, they'd probably laugh. If they did decide to take action, they'd probably just kick her or pour cold water on her. And if she didn't wake up and they blamed him... No. He wasn't going to let the guards get involved in this.

He sat down unhappily, trying to think. What had she done? She had his back against the wall, and her eyes... When he had looked into her eyes, they seemed dark and far away, as though she wasn't looking at him... But deeper. He shivered. That wasn't right. But why? Why? Why? He growled again, a little softly, and folded his arms. The longer she held his gaze, the faster the foggy images in the deepest corner of his mind began to emerge. They were pouring back, until she released his gaze and they tumbled away, although they were clearer now.

What had she done? Bring forgotten memories back? He scoffed. That was impossible. Kins couldn't do that. It wasn't in their ability. He hadn't heard of any 'monster' capable of bringing back memories. He looked down at the girl lying in front of him, still, looking dead. He sighed, and rolled her over. Her face looked strained and pale, like it had been earlier. But now she didn't look like a lost child anymore. She looked like a child suffering from a horrible nightmare. Slowly, he pressed his palm against her forehead again, which to his surprise, was flaring up. Was she sick now?

"Hmmmf." He held her by the waist and pulled her back to his makeshift bed, rather grudgingly. He felt bad about this, but why? He hated all the questions forming, and dropped her onto the straw. She didn't awaken. He knelt by her side. Something was prickling him. And it wasn't a thing. It was the same feeling, the same feeling he had been getting ever since they met, pinching and biting him, burning from the inside. And when he looked at her, he itched even more. He looked away. Why? All the questions were starting to bother him. The feeling didn't involve wanting to throw her off a cliff, although the day before he gladly would have. He looked back at her face, and his eyes softened.

"I can't believe this." He huffed. He looked around the cell before his eyes fell on a ragged piece of cloth. He grabbed it before crawling back to her side, and leaning downwards slightly. He could still hear her breathing, her heart beating steadily. But she seemed as if she was trapped far away, clutched in a nightmare. Still regretting everything, he lay the cloth over her and scuttled away slightly, watching her. He curled up. Maybe just a little more sleep...

...

Miku awoke.

At first her furious mind struggled to take control, before she began to relax. Looking down, she saw the blanket over her. What the...? She turned. Mikuo lay next to her, fast asleep. It was still early, so there would be another hour or so until the guards came to drag them away to work. But... Why was she on his bed? Under this piece of cloth? She kicked it off and stretched, shaking her head. Her eyes hurt for some reason, and her throat ached. "Ugh... Wh..." She turned to the boy, still sleeping.

Curiously, she moved herself over to him. He seemed blissfully unaware that she was awake, and more relaxed than the agitated figure she had seen trying to fall asleep the other night. She looked at the cloth she was still holding in her hands. Did a guard really drape this over her? Or... Her eyes widened, and she crept backwards, knocking over the buckets at the corner of the cell. Her eyes flicked back to him.

He didn't make a sound. And why was she on his bed, anyway? She leaned down, trying to get a closer look at his face. He seemed perfectly fine, a tired little boy, exhausted after a hard day at work. Her ears pricked backwards. She didn't like it. She didn't like this feeling. She didn't know what it was, and it bit at her until she scurried away from him, slumping in a corner of the cell, as far away from him as possible.

Stupid feelings.

...

"Miku? You look exhausted. Are you feeling alright?" The Kin said nothing and flopped down onto the wet sand. Gakuko glided towards her smoothly, her long skirt swishing around her thin legs. Miku curled up into a ball, hiding her head between her knees so that all Gakuko could see were messy teal twin tails. The tails bobbed slightly, and a muffled noise came from underneath them.

Luka pushed herself onto the sand and bent downwards to look at her face, but Miku turned round, her hair falling over her shoulder. "Something isn't right... Miku, dear, are you okay? It doesn't seem like it."

"Hmm... Are you going to tell us what's wrong?" Gakuko patted the girl's head, and the tails bobbed again. "Oh, where's a Baku when you need one? You'd better at least look like you're doing work, or the guards going to come over. And we don't want that to happen, do we?" Miku looked up, and Gakuko pulled back in surprise.

Miku looked at the purple-haired lady, her blood-shot eyes sunken. She seemed horribly ill, upset and angered at the same time. "Miku!" Luka exclaimed. "What's the matter with you? From what I know, that couldn't have been caused by lack of sleep."

Miku shook her head, putting a hand on her forehead. "I... I don't know..." She croaked, her voice brittle and gravelly. "I just... My eyes.. Hurt. I don't know why. I didn't do anything."

"Well, I don't know if this might work, but I think I have some jars of _Horoma_ around..." Luka proceeded to swim away before Gakuko waded into the murky water quickly and grabbed her arm.

"No. That's no use. I don't know if this will work either, but..." Luka stared at Gakuko blankly. She continued, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Look. There's something wrong with the girl - not just now. But before this... Yesterday. She's not just a Kin, Luka. She's something much more. More powerful. I don't know what, but there's something going on about her. I'm going to try and get her to tell me what happened."

Luka tilted her head before shooting a glance at the girl, curling herself up into a ball again. "I know you're a Siren, but... Will this really work? I'm sure you're a good one, but.. We both know the Siren's powers don't work on females that well."

Gakuko held up a finger. "Nobody said impossible." And before Luka could stop her, she pulled her long skirt out of the water and seated herself in front of Miku. "Alright, I'm going to need you to look into my eyes... Just for a moment. Okay? We'll be able to figure out what's wrong..."

"No. And you don't want to."

"Please, Miku. It won't hurt. Luka's there, and... You'll be fine." Miku shook her head, and Gakuko grabbed her chin, forcing her head upwards. "Sorry, girl. But I need to find out what's- Ah-" Her eyes caught Miku's, and she released her head, falling backwards. "A-Aaahh..."

Luka jumped to her side immediately. "Gakuko? What's the matter?" She took the Siren's arm.

"I-I'm fine..." Gakuko huffed, rubbing her arms as though she was cold. "I just... Remembered something unpleasant. From a long time ago. I... I don't know why."

Luka frowned, and turned to face Miku, but the Kin shook her head. "Strange... Gakuko... What was that 'unpleasant' memory?"

The Siren gave Luka a weak smile, fiddling with a strand of her long purple hair. "Oh... It's just something I did from a long time ago. You know, the usual Siren things. Sailors, singing, a charming smile... And then drowning. And stuff. You know. Although... That one incident was a little more... Or a little less pleasing than the others. It was a long time ago, and I forgot what happened exactly. Somehow it makes me feel ashamed, but..." Her eyes widened, her voice lowering. "I... Remembered."

Luka turned back to Miku, who was now lying on the ground, sulking. "Huh. You're right. There's just something about that girl... I suppose she's a little feisty. But I don't think there's anything really to be worried about."

"Hm. I suppose you're right." Gakuko nodded, standing up and trudging into the water, her feet brushing against the weeds and twigs at the bottom of the pool. "Now, about yesterday."

"Yes..." The Lumiere pushed away several vines that were clinging to a tree, revealing another drawer filled with more jars. "I managed to get the ingredients to the _Fumupor_, but it'll take a while before I can get everything to combine together. In the meantime, there's always _Upelkechen_..." Discussing silently with Gakuko, the Kin, seated far away tried to push a boy out of her mind as she attempted to focus on their conversation.

* * *

**I wanted to write more, but I think that's about it.**

**Ooh I know what's going on. Ahahaha.**

**Also, _Upelkechen_ - it's a thing. I forgot how to spell it, though. If I'm right, it's the cake from Alice in Wonderland. If I'm not, then I just spelled it wrong._  
_**


	4. Chapter 4

**I wanna write the next chapter ahaha~**

Reviews

**Awsomeangel  
**Haha, yeah! Thanks for reading~ ^w^

* * *

"Miku."

His voice filled the cell, echoing through the dull room. She looked at him in surprise, as if she wasn't aware he had been there all this time. Mikuo sat, cross-legged on his simple bed, looking up at her. She stared back. "Um... Hello." The two simply looked at each other, tensing up at every second that ticked by. Miku looked away, breaking the silent game. "..Whatever." She climbed back up onto the ledge, turning to face the barricaded door. They continued to sit in silence, and she still felt his eyes on her back. Was he waiting for something? She peeped backwards, and Mikuo turned away.

"You, um..." Mikuo piped up, scratching the back of his neck. "You fainted."

Miku snorted, stretching into a more casual pose as she lay on her stomach, tail in the air. "Yeah, no doubt." She looked down at the dust covering the wooden ledge, and trailed her finger through it, leaving small marks and swirls in the sediment. "Hey. Just now... I mean, earlier this morning." She sat up, turning towards him, but he refused to let her catch his gaze again. "Ugh, I can't believe this conversation. What were you doing?"

Mikuo frowned angrily, the feeling biting him again, but as he looked up at her, still avoiding her eyes, the feeling slowed down into an easy-going throb. And it hurt, for one reason or another. He bit his bottom lip, then decided it wasn't a good idea to do so. "Wh-What? I wasn't doing anything. I mean... You fainted. Hey, I let you sleep instead of throwing a bucket of water at your face, be grateful." There only came a muffled sound as a reply, and he looked at his feet. It sounded like a "thank you", but he wasn't going to believe that. He had hated her as soon as he had set his eyes upon her malicious smirk. And the feeling was starting to annoy him a lot now, and he couldn't figure out what it meant. More questions threatened to form in his mind, but he shook them all away. He didn't want to answer any of them, especially not any concerning her.

He stood up and Miku noticed his movement, although she didn't respond. He looked out of the window, where the large globe of fire seemed to be hanging by a single thread as it began to descend down the hills, leaving a streak of orange through the sky. He leaned his head against the window pane, looking enchanted as he watched the sun dip itself down the mountains, light flicking in between the trees.

"You look like you've never seen the sun set before."

Mikuo turned around to see Miku standing next to him, leaning against the wall. He glared at her huffily, opening his mouth to snap at her. "Well, it's not everyday." He ended up admitting, sounding a lot calmer than he felt. Or thought he felt. "And... I..." His eyes left the window, trying to find something else to settle on. "A-Are you o-o-okay? You fainted, and..."

"Oh..." Miku looked away as well. She frowned to herself. It was that feeling again. Why did it constantly chew at her so? She hated it. She despised it. And it only ever occurred when she was near him, and therefore she wanted to loathe him as well. And yet that feeling prevented her from doing so. But she still hated him. Right? "I just... Yeah. I'm fine."

"Okay." Mikuo tried to focus on the sunset, but the questions itched at the back of his mind, a place he couldn't reach. He wanted to ask more. To tell more. And yet he didn't want to, and the feeling continued to bother him, annoying him more than she did. He hated that he felt this way. He wanted to hate her.

Miku looked down at her bare feet, still slightly wet from dragging them along the sand under the cool yet dirty waters of the marsh zone. She rubbed a sleeve against her nose, still damp as well. Mikuo, on the other hand, seemed dried out and exhausted, like he hadn't seen a drop of water all day. Watching him stare out of the window, questions began forming feverishly at the back of her mind, and the more she tried to win the argument with them, the more they began to pester her.

Until she decided to ask herself. _Does he care about me? _She shuddered at the thought. _No. That's not possible. He doesn't, and I don't. He's just another filthy beast like the... The rest of us. _She looked towards him. The sun had already set itself down below the mountains, and soon the guards would drag them out for dinner. Another time she could look forward to.

Mikuo tugged at the collar of his shirt nervously. The questions were snapping at him to no end, and every time he struggled to answer them, it seemed the search would end in mistakes. **((See dat? I did it again XD Unless you don't remember haha )) **He pouted, trying to push the questions away, but they refused to release his angered mind. _Do I care about her?_ He caught himself, shocked at the thought, and stumbled backwards. His tail hit something, and he found himself being shoved away. He turned. "What the hell-"

Miku glared at the ground angrily, cautiously taking her tail in her hands. Her cheeks were puffed up and tinted a soft pink, and anyone that wasn't him would have found her cute at that moment, an angry child. "Don't touch my tail." She said softly.

"Well, gee, fine." Mikuo held up his hands and walked away. At first he would have snapped back at her, but he could relate to his tail getting pulled and stepped on. Even though he didn't do anything. And he definitely didn't want her throwing him at the wall again.

Eventually a guard came and unlocked their door, and another two came in, cuffing their wrists. "Alright, beasts. Time to eat, if you want to stay alive." He chuckled at his own joke, and the two were dragged away.

...

"Kaiko? You look kinda nervous." Rin poked the Kappa's arm, and she nodded.

"Oh... I-It's nothing." Kaiko smiled, grabbing her spoon and sticking it into the goop on her plate. This time it was a light, dull purple in color, and watching her stuff it into her mouth could make anyone feel sick. She looked up at Miku, eyes looking up from the spoon she held in front of her. "And, um... I feel like we should be more concerned about Mi- Eep!" Something collided into her from behind, and she dropped the spoon, splattering goop everywhere.

"E-Ewww..." Rin spluttered, wiping the mush from her mouth. She licked her lips. "Huh. It's... Not that bad."

Kaiko looked behind her. "Y-You again...?" She moved forward, so that her tail wasn't in his face. "What happened now?"

A blue-haired boy looked up from behind her, and blinked. "Um... What?" The creatures behind them burst into giggles and laughs, and Luka glared. Some fell silent, but the others were too distracted by the boy falling on his face. He looked at Kaiko. "O-Oh... Sorry." He rubbed his crystal-blue eyes, sniffing. He stood up, waving his arms. "Sorry, everyone! I just got a little blur again." Kaiko looked away, embarrassed.

Miku looked at the boy curiously. Even though his hair was blue, his ears and tail were snowy white. "That's an Edurlan." Luka said, patting Kaiko's back. "They're ice wolves, and they don't have very good sight. This poor boy gets bullied a lot." She looked at Kaiko pitifully, and dropped her voice to a whisper. "Everyone knows Kaito. He's been friends with Kaiko when she came here, as children. He tried to look out for her, but he only messed up more, the poor thing. And Kaiko... Her life got a little worse, and he's still trying to make it up to her."

"Oh." She looked up at the blue scarf wrung around his neck, which was starting to get pulled and yanked by the other creatures in front of him, pulling him away. The guards did nothing. She then noticed that Kaiko had the same scarf wrapped around her, except that hers ended in a bow behind her neck. Pulled and yanked... She turned around.

Mikuo looked away.

"By the way, you've been awfully quiet." Rin noted, pointing her fork at Miku. "Luka tells me there's something going on with- Mmmff!" Luka slapped a hand over her mouth and she cringed. "I-I mean... You know. Anything wrong?"

"No. No, it's nothing." She forced a smile. "Shouldn't we be more concerned about Kaiko?"

The Kappa's face flushed. "Oh! N-No! Please don't." She shook her head. "I'm sure you're all really busy, too... With your own things." She chewed on her bottom lip, falling silent. Miku sighed. Yes, definitely busy. "You and Mikuo seem to be getting along better."

"Really?" Luka's face lit up, looking amused. "Is that so? Why? What are you doing?"

"Wh-What!? No, I'm..." Miku crossed her arms and huffed. "No. He's just a brat as ever. He's stupid, annoying, lazy, selfish..." She held up her fingers to count the insults, but the more she counted, the more aware she became that someone was watching her, and that said someone was feeling rather upset. "..Don't hope. He's too arrogant. I don't like him at all."

"Is that so? You really hate him?" Miku nodded angrily, then looked down.

She really hoped she did.

* * *

**Oh my gosh.**

**Lol anyway, is this a bit too short? idk I tried;;**


	5. Chapter 5

**Soo... Things are happening. Yeahhh...**

Reviews

HarmonianTraveller

Haha, yeaaahh~ But it's fine! Thanks anyway!

* * *

Days passed.

Miku wanted to focus on the plan, she really did. But the thoughts and questions were weighing her head down, and, as much as she hated to admit it, her heart as well. She dragged herself back and forth, from the cell, the marsh, the smelly cafeteria. She tried to work, she tried and forced herself to appear happy and fine, but the same feeling, that horrible feeling nipped at her continuously. It refused to stray away, and every time she returned to her cell, the feeling started to gnaw harder. And when it bit harder, she was well aware of the eyes on her back, restless and worried eyes watching her as she tried to sleep. Eyes that appeared to be glaring out hatred towards her. Yet this hatred seemed wobbly and uncertain, as if it was unsure if it really wanted to hate. But this really couldn't have bothered her anymore.

Miku, seated on her ledge and curled up, attempted to count the stars instead of watch Mikuo fiddle around. The stars glinted lazily in the hazy night sky, and most were shadowed by the dark clouds and smoke. The smoke that came from the village, which were full of humans. Humans. Mortals. She wondered what they were like. Having something other to think about than the arrogant Kin sitting in front of her, she gladly decided to wonder about how Humans lived. They were fragile, like little glass dolls. That's why the guards wore all that armor. And they got sick easily, and lived a very short life. Poor humans. She wondered how they felt when they found themselves wrinkling up, thick hair turning grey and thin. Humans weren't really the best sort of species out there, and yet they rounded every 'beast' up and forced them to work for them.

Miku huffed angrily. How could they? They were plain, old, simple and weak mortals, so how did they find the power to capture all of them? There must have been more humans than she thought. Still agitated, she looked back out of the window, where the milky lights in the sky seemed to calm her. She looked down at Mikuo. She wanted to get a closer look at the moon and stars, but...

Mikuo looked up. Miku shuffled next to him, leaning out the small window. "What? I can't even look at the sky, now?"

"Pest." He growled, although it wasn't as snappy as before. Trying to avoid staring at her slender legs balancing next to him, he looked down. What exactly had she done that day? The question had been bugging him day and night, but he could never come up with a right answer. She couldn't have possibly brought his memories back, especially not the ones of him as a child, old and forgotten ones, disappearing in the rear of his mind. It just wasn't possible.

"Hah. you don't mean that."

He glared at her, angry and confused. "..The hell? You know I mean that. And I do. Ugh." He crossed his arms and turned away, knowing and swearing that she was an annoying little prick. Her voice carved itself into his mind again, and as much as he tried to refuse it, the deepest part of his mind whispered "I don't."

"Oh, please. I know when someone's tell-" She paused, and she looked at him in surprise. He looked back in equal astonishment, and then realized it was too late as he caught sight of her blue eyes. "I know when someone's telling the truth... Or a lie." She took in a breath.

Mikuo turned away immediately. "No. Dont be stupid." He paused, debating on whether or not to add "Ah, but you already are", before he remembered how strong her grip was. He decided not to. "It's not possible. Only Sirens can do that. And Sh- You know. We're just Kins."

Miku frowned. Perhaps not. But she remembered what Gakuko had said. Perhaps she was much more than that.

...

"You. Lumiere."

Luka raised her eyebrows at him, but followed him behind the shady corner nonetheless. "It's Luka." She said, before smiling sweetly at him. "Please take your claws off my arm. I assume you want to talk?"

"Of course I want to talk, fish." Mikuo growled, refusing to release her arm. "And you're not going anywhere until you answer my questions." He looked over her, behind the mossy wall, where creatures were talking and shouting, eating and sleeping. Lunch wasn't that different from when you were in your cell, especially if you had windows to look into the other side. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to them.

"Is this about Miku?" She asked excitedly.

"Well, yes- I mean, no! N-No, but... Agggh." He took a deep breath, gripping Luka's arm tighter, although she didn't seem to mind. He breathed out, ears and tail twitching angrily. "Yes. Fine. It is. I just want to know what you know about her, since you've... Been, ugh, spending... Time with her. You know." He waved his free hand, trying to think up something else to say.

"Mhmm."

Mikuo sighed. "Hey. L-Look, whatever you're thinking, you're wrong. I just... Need some answers! Okay? Is that so bad." Luka smiled again, and he huffed. "There's just some stuff I want to know. She's been... Acting weird lately. I-I mean, not that I'm bothered. Hey, if I can make it worse, that would be great." He lied. He released her arm, twiddling his fingers, completely forgetting all about whether she would run away or not.

"Sure." She crossed her arms. "Well? What d'you need?"

"Okay... Look, Miku..." Mikuo trailed off, trying to come up with words, any words, anything that would have made sense, but as her image settled in his mind, the words were shot up and jumbled as if they were in blender. Luka looked at him expectantly. "J-Just... Okay. Fine. I think there's something wrong with her... Or something like that."

If Lumiere had heels, Luka would have been rocking on them, swinging back and forth slightly. She still seemed to be capable of doing that with a tail. For some reason she stayed quiet for a few moments, a bemused, but rather insulted look on her face. "Well... There's something wrong with all of us, don't you think?" She finally said, smirking.

Mikuo shook his head and groaned. "N-No! That's not what I meant!" He dropped his voice to a whisper, even though they were out of anyone's earshots. "Listen. When she looked in my eyes, it kind of looked like she was in a trance. Under a spell. Dreamy, uncertain..."

"Dreamy?" Luka repeated and found herself trying not to laugh. "Well, perhaps that's what happens when she looks in your eyes, hmm?"

"Sh-Shut up and listen!" Mikuo hissed and spluttered, trying to swipe at her arm. "Look! And when she did, I kind of felt... Invaded. Like she was staring into me. Into my mind. She found out I was telling a l- I m-mean, she found out I wasn't telling the truth about s-something! And then, she looked harder, and her eyes got all dull... And I remembered something from my childhood... Something I'd forgotten a long time ago..." He looked downwards. "A memory that made me feel ashamed, I think..."

This caught Luka's attention. Her eyes widened. "Wait... Ashamed?" She asked in alarm. Mikuo nodded. She turned back to the tables, where she could make out a purple-haired lady talking amongst a crowd. "...Was she right?" She murmured.

Mikuo caught her looking back, and tilted over to see what she was looking at. She pushed him back and turned around. He growled at her. "Geez. Who was right?" He asked grumpily.

Luka looked at him as though he was something vaguely disturbing, and then winced as there was a crash and angry muttering. "Hmf. I never said that person was right." She attempted to catch his gaze, but, as she had predicted, he looked away immediately. "If this is true... Ah, we'll have our work cut out for us. And you - be a good boy and keep quiet." She turned her tail and swished off, Mikuo returning to his table, trying not to look at her.

"Oh-" Luka looked down in surprise to see what she had bumped into. Two little girls, long hair tied into twin tails stared back up at her. "Well now, aren't you two adorable? Sorry about that. Where do you two sit? Is anyone looking out for you?" The girls said nothing and simply stared at the Lumiere. Her face darkened when she realized what was going on.

"They just came in." Two voices said at once. Luka moved back as two blonde kids grabbed the girls. Rin looked up in alarm, moving away immediately, keeping one girl in her arms. "Rinto!" She smiled cheerily, but there was a sort of panic in her tone, as though she wanted to get away from him. "Hey~ Did the other one wander to you?"

Rinto smiled weakly and nodded, letting go of the girl she was holding and let her wander back to her sibling. "Y-Yeah... I guess they both ran off looking for each other..." He looked longingly and glumly at her hand, and then nodded.

Luka beamed at the two of them, and wiped her forehead. Wait a minute.. Was she sweating? She looked at Rinto, who seemed to be practically glowing with happiness as he gazed back at Rin. She, although looking equally happy, looked like she had been standing under the Sun for too long. "It's... Kind of been a while since we talked, huh?"

Rin sighed as she let the two girls reunite. "Eh. Stupid guards won't let us stay together for too long, huh?" She looked down.

Luka's smile started to twitch, before Rinto moved closer, and the heat became stronger. "Rin... Sometimes I wish I wasn't a Solin, you know..?" He smiled briefly, reaching out as though he were about to take her hand, but kept himself back.

A look of happiness and discomfort crossed Rin's face as she backed away. "No. Just be what you were born to be as." She stood up and pulled the girls with her. "We'll be fine and you know that." She winked.

"Okay okay." Luka cut in. "Look, as cute as this is, I need to talk with her. And people. So you just be on your merry way..." She shoved him away gently, but as her palm touched his skin, a burn shot up her arm, fire tingling her fingertips. "Ohmygoshwhat-" She sprang away. "Ow!"

Rinto looked upset. "Sorry, Miss... I'll go now." He turned and walked away.

Rin watched him leave, as Luka watched her, before she noticed the leaves and vines tangled around her appeared burnt and without water for too long. "Rin!" She exclaimed in surprise. "What happened to all your leaves?" She touched one, and it crumbled into ash beneath her fingertips. Luka recoiled quickly, staring at the blonde girl is alarm and dismay.

She looked unhappily at Luka. "Rinto's a Solin. I'm an Earthein. I cant handle _too_ much sun, let alone fire." She held up a hand, which looked sun burnt. The leaves and vines coiling that particular arm were charred and burnt. "But whatever. It doesn't matter. Let's get back to our table." Forcing a smile, she seemed like a happy young kid again as she ran off with the two girls.

"S-So, hold on just a minute!" Luka called as she went after them, falling onto a seat next to Miku as soon as they had reached their table. Miku looked at the twins suspiciously. "These two just came in, right? And you just went and claimed them for yourselves?" Rin smiled sheepishly as Kaiko attempted to moisturize her leaves. "Alright. Well then, what are their names? And what... What are they, exactly?" The sister on the right looked a little older. The two had long, sharp ears and a bushy tail, both a light ashy-grey color, but tipped light blue at the end. Luka's eyes darted to her side, but refocused somewhere else in the crowd. "Kitsune?" She suggested.

The older girl shrugged, and pointed at herself. "Chu!" She squeaked.

"Th-They're adorable!" Lenka said happily.

Chu bent her head, and pointed at her sister. "Yan." **((Guess where I got their names from? lol))**

"Hm... Chu and Yan, huh?" Luka swung her tail around and placed it under the table, leaning her head against her palms. "So... You both appear to be Kitsune, but... They're usually white. And their tips are red... Ah, I suppose they come in different colors, right?" She patted Yan's head, and she purred affectionately. "Haha, oh, what cuties!"

Miku squinted at them and said nothing. Their air felt familiar... In a way she didn't like. She turned back to her food and ate. She didn't like those sisters, the way they stared at everyone with their round eyes. It was as if they could have been plotting something evil, using their cuteness to assume innocence. She didn't trust them, or their smell. It just didn't fit. Luka noticed Miku looking a little more grumpy than usual, and remembered what Mikuo had said. She had brought back a memory, something that had made him feel ashamed. And not just him - she had done it to Gakuko as well. But how? Kins didn't have this kind of ability. Perhaps when they had grown several thousand years, they could attempt to learn, although the results would not have been as satisfying as this. And it seemed like she wasn't aware of this strange ability either. What could this mean?

"Speaking of which," Luka piped up suddenly. "You two aren't quite snapping at each other so much anymore, now are you? A sudden urge to be nicer?" She gave Miku a teasing smile, although the thoughts in her mind were whirring. Maybe if she could find out a few things...

Miku looked flustered and extremely irritated at the same time. "Absolutely not!" She scoffed. "We've just learned how to hate each other quietly."

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Of course. No way I'm getting along with that brat."

Luka frowned and turned back. Miku was too sharp for this anyway. If she pressed too hard she'd get suspicious and shut down completely. Perhaps she would soften a bit as time wore on. After all, time would smooth everything down eventually. Luka had been watching.

That time was coming soon.

* * *

**What what. **

**I actually wanted to write more lol but I think this is good enough, right? I'm getting this sudden urge to write this story! Although I still haven't came up with a plot yet lol this is just still the introduction?**

**omg**

**this is going to drag along forever isn't it-**

**pff it's not my fault (okay technically it is but) these two are so stubborn! Ugh i hope I'm not boring you with all the blocks of text XD**


	6. Chapter 6

**This is bad?**

**I'm like 6 chapters into the story and it's still the introduction omg I'm a horrible writer this story is going to have a million chaps at this rate um what do I do**

**I haven't even really come up with a plot**

**And I already have a fine outline of the ending, but I have no idea how to fill the space in between someone help me**

Reviews **((The Underline option isn't working for a reason wot))**

**HarmonianTraveller**  
Ahaha, CORRECT! XD

**pastel-chan**  
Amg but this is literally the only story I'm updating ahaha _(:3」∠ )_  
And yes, yes, yes! Haha thank you~ Another shipper yuss d=(´▽｀)=b

* * *

"And... Voila!" Gas exploded in front of Gakuko, completely thick and opaque, so all Miku and Luka could see was the whiteness in front of them. Miku squinted into the smoke, but even with her excellent eyesight, she couldn't see a thing. She stepped backwards and fell over a tree branch, dropping into the dirty water with a splash. Luckily the gas was only in a small round, and didn't fill up the entire zone - that would've been a waste. From somewhere in the cloud, she heard Gakuko's voice and she pulled herself up. "It will... Take a while to run dry. What do you want to do with it in the meantime?"

Luka moved away from the gas cloud, peering into it, but Gakuko only appeared as she stepped out. "Hm... Well, that's a rather good idea, isn't it? I'm not too fond of the whole _Poifondum_ and _Paputukin_ mix, but it seems to go quite well. It was difficult getting all the needed supplies, but we did it." She crossed her arms, looking pleased with herself. "If only we knew the way around this place. We wouldn't be running around with guards chasing us, and we'd have no idea where to go. Especially if we escape with a bunch of others. Right, Miku?"

Miku nodded absently, and her eyes seemed to be focused elsewhere. "Huh? Oh, um right." Her tail swished into the water and flicked upwards, splashing Luka's already wet hair.

"Hey there." Luka said, scrunching her hair up in her palms and squeezing the water out, then flipped it backwards. "You seem a little unfocused nowadays. Anything the matter?"

"No. It's nothing. It's just... Working all day, all night, in these harsh conditions, it kind of wears me out." Miku picked up the bottle of the _Poifondum_ and _Paputukin_ mix and looked earnestly and Luka. "Do you think we could make this spread faster and stay longer?"

"I get you." Gakuko patted her back, but kept her eyes away from Miku's. "You have no idea what goes on in my cell. This arrogant twit who thinks he's s_o_ freaking charming, who lives next door, fortunately, keeps thinking he's the star of the show. He keeps whining all day and night and oh lord it drives me insane." She pouted at the thought, deciding to talk about herself than listen to what another Lumiere had to say. "And you know what? His hair isn't even that fabulous. He's horrendous. And every night, he keeps on leaving the windows open so that the flies and bugs from the lakes keep getting into my cell. I don't know how he keeps them out, that... That... Ugh."

Luka nodded in agreement. "Mm, yes. I've heard of him. Constantly I think of all those annoying pests out there, and how I'd love to claw their eyeballs out. Unfortunately, I don't have any claws. Miku, would you do me the favor?" Luka paused, waiting for an answer, but there was none. "Miku? Would you like to... Miku? Hello?" She poked the teal-haired girl's shoulder, and she jerked.

"O-Oh-! Luka. Sorry about that." Miku rubbed her cheek and sniffed. "I wasn't really paying attention. Um... You want something about a clause?"

Luka looked at Gakuko, and the two sighed in unison.

...

He hated this feeling.

He absolutely hated it.

He loathed it. Despised it. He wanted to get rid of it, stop him from tormenting him all day and night.

But of course, the only way to do so was to find out what it was.

...

Miku gasped as a hand grasped her shoulder and pulled her to the side. At once she reacted, punching him in the face and flipping him over. "OW!" Someone cried, and she relaxed, before she recognized the voice and tensed up again. Mikuo stood up, rubbing his bleeding nose. "The hell, Miku? It's just me... Oh my god. You punch way more hard than a girl should, ugh..."

She raised her eyebrows at him, still in a fighting stance. "So what now, girls are supposed to be weak? Huh?" She taunted him again, and he glared at her. "The heck do you want, anyway? Just grabbing me and pulling me away like that... You could have at least asked nicely... I still would've punched you though." She shrugged and let down her arms, although it seemed like she would pull them back up as soon as he moved.

"Yeah, sure. You definitely would, so that's not going to make a different... Agh... Is this why the guards caught you?" He wiped the blood off.

Miku crossed her arms, staring at him angrily. "Well? If you were going to tell me something, get on with it. I don't see why I should waste my time talking with you." She leaned against the cell wall, turning her eyes towards a ratty old piece of cloth on the floor. She looked harder at it, and remembered how it had been placed over her shoulders as she fell unconscious. She still didn't understand his actions. Or his words. Or himself, at all. Neither of them said anything for a few seconds, before Mikuo decided to play angry.

"Listen." He sneered, jabbing his finger at her. "I don't know what you're doing to me, but I don't like it, so you sure as hell better stop. It's always bugging me, every day, every night, and it's all your fault. So stop it. Take it away. Chant, do some black magic, I don't care! _Stop this feeling_!" He barked out the last four words unintentionally, and fell back, wearing down. "Beast..."

Miku's eyes widened. "F... Feeling?" She repeated. "Th-That's not... Possible... I-It's not my fault!" She roared, swatting at him again, but this time, he caught her arm.

"Don't play your tricks on me." He hissed. She looked at him in shock and alarm, and hidden behind her eyes, worry, and something tempted him to release her arm. He gave in. He had to go with it, or it would've kept at him forever, itching until he had to scratch. "Ugh, what's the use?" He groaned.

She glared at him. "Use? What, now? I'm just a tool to you?"

"Well you're sure as hell like one!" He spat back, flouncing away. "Worthless girl! I should have known known! You're all the same!"

"All?" She started to get agitated, her ears twitching angrily as she returned into a fighting stance. "You know what? Why should males be any different!? Maybe if you shut up people would leave you alone. You're the idiot!"

Mikuo snarled at her, fists ready to attack, but he kept his gaze to the wall behind, tensed and angered. "How about you close your mouth, snitch." He barbed, growling at her. "Crap is coming out of it. You're... Ugh. Either way, calling you an idiot would be an insult to stupid people."

"Gahh! Just... Shut up!"

"Don't say things like that; it just makes you sound stupid. In fact, don't talk at all. It just makes you sound stupid."

"I-I said s-shu-"

"Oh, quivering now? Maybe you really are just an annoying b-"

"**_SHUT UP_**_._"

She exploded, all a sudden, in a voice that shook the cell, filled his ears. A most gruesome voice, of several thousands of people talking at once, dead people with booming voices, all directed at him. Unable to control himself, he shot a look back in terror, catching her gaze. "_**This is how you**_** think?**" Her voice seemed clear, confident, and deadly, and Mikuo was unable to move as the voices pounded at him, shook and and scared him. Venom dripped from the words, and it was poison, pure and deadly poison threatening to drip on him, take him out from the inside and drown him in that sickly-sweet voice.

Miku gasped suddenly, and slapped a hand over her mouth. "Wha..." Her face paled, and she fell forward, but stayed conscious, even though her body seemed collapsed and unable to move. "How... Wh-What... Ha-Happened..." Her voice was no longer bold and overlapped with others. She was back to normal, frozen on the floor, shaking uncontrollably.

"Miku-" He bent down, crouching in front of her, but she turned from him. He touched her fair skin, beaded with sweat and caked with mud, but she clawed at him, and he had to dodge to prevent her from gouging his eyeballs out. He tried to look at her face, and it was streaked with tears, and blood. "Wait... What?" He grabbed her shoulders and forced her upwards, tearing her hands away from her eyes. "Oh god."

Blood streamed down from her empty, lifeless eyes, mixed with salty tears of pain and suffering. She cried harder, and the blood flowed faster, eyes losing light rapidly. "S-Stop!" He exclaimed, grabbing the cloth laying by his side and wiped the blood and tears from her face, refusing to stop until she did. Eventually the bloody tears dried away, and by then the entire cloth was soaked in blood, as well as his hand. "Good lord, Miku. What in the world is wrong with you?" He dropped the cloth to the side and checked her face for any stains or other tears, not realizing what he was doing.

A guard stomped by their cell, looking at them in surprise, before his eyes fell over the bloody cloth. "Huh. I didn't know beasts got it too." Mikuo hissed at him, and he hurried away.**  
**

He turned back to Miku, still shaking slightly in his arms. He looked down at her, confused, wondering. "Wait- NO." He dropped her, and she fell to the floor with a thud. Thoughts then began tormenting his mind, and he wondered if that was really the right thing to do. But the right thing didn't matter. Not if it was about her. He then realized she had fainted again. "Oh, gosh."

Mikuo thought back as he laid her down. Her eyes. Her dull, lifeless eyes, but when stared into, seemed to fire up with anger. Something stirred in him as he thought about her eyes. Another memory, but of one not too long ago. When she had first been thrown into his cell. Oh, how he had loathed that day, how we wished it would poof away, disappear in a wisp of smoke. But no. And now, after watching her restlessly so many nights, he had begun to wonder if he really wanted her to disappear.

The memory started to chew on him angrily. What was it again..? He tried to recall. She had asked him what there was to be grateful here. She had told him... She had told him of a possible death of her family. He shivered. He had never seen his family. He had never seen his mother, his father, he had never seen another Kin until she had arrived. And obviously, she had to anger him. And she could tell. She had told him that his eyes alone told her everything. But what did that mean? No monster possessed the ability to redeem memories or thoughts, or anything at all from a person's eyes. Eyes. Her bright blue ones staring at him, memories washed back somehow, forcing him to remember. She had told him about her family dying. He wondered how the guards had tracked her down. How they had pulled her away as she watched her family die away, literally.

He was appalled. Was this that feeling? Was he really pitying her, of all people? That couldn't have been. And this wasn't the feeling that had been tormenting him day and night. And... Her eyes... He tried to shake the image from his head, before realizing his eyelids were growing heavier. "Ugh... Why am I so tired...?" He looked down at her, more restless than ever now. He had worked so hard out there, ask angry just at the thought of her face, but why? Why did he feel this way about her? He hated it. And even more, he hated the fact that he was beginning to accept it.

Mikuo looked down at Miku, where she was laying, her face stretched into fear. It was worse than before. She was no longer trying to escape the nightmare. She was becoming the nightmare. That alone scared him.

And now he felt afraid. Wonderful. As if that he didn't keep guard, something would jump out at him. Or her. He grumbled, a lump forming in his throat. Anger. Fear. Confusion. He glanced at her again, and the lump loosened just a little. Out of all the questions, the only he really wanted answered was 'Why her?'.

Tentatively, he reached out and stroked her head, once again, but this time, she didn't awaken. He couldn't believe this was happening again, all over again, and he was allowing himself to get caught in the same act, cursed to reenact it continuously, over and over, again and again. A book with no story, a tale with no ending, a life that would go on forever. **((Oh no he's becoming aware))**

Now he felt even more tired. Why did this even disturb him in the first place? Why would he care? All he wanted was... He faltered. No. That couldn't have been what he wanted. In a split-second of panic, he looked at her, and tried to relax. She hated him. Right? And he was supposed to not care. But now the most horrible thought was what if he did care? What if he cared about what she thought of him? Or worse, what she felt about him?

No. It was impossible. _Deny it, deny it_. Repeating continuously, he wore himself down. Guilt and anger bit at him, and he couldn't help but glance at her every so often, letting the feelings crash above his head. **((Oh Mikuo, that's fine - we all feel feels))**

And now he was so exhausted he could barely keep himself awake. He flopped down onto the floor, trying to shift himself into a more comfortable position. As he moved, something else leaned against his back. He jerked suddenly. ...Miku? He twitched his ear, and it touched the tip of hers. For a moment, he panicked. Being too close to her started to make him feel cooped up. Trapped. Like there was no where to run. Yet at the same time it sort of relaxed him. But...

Remembering that he was supposed to not care, he made his decision.

He was going to fall asleep next to her, and he didn't care anymore.

...

"Where am I?"

Her voice bounced off the empty walls, echos shooting back at her. She then noticed Mikuo lying next to her. What the heck was he doing here? That wasn't important. Where was she? She looked around. This wasn't their cell. This was far, far away from it. Far away from the other cells, at least.

"Hey. Wake up." She whispered, nudging him cautiously. She didn't know if anyone was watching them, and she didn't want to find out. He didn't respond, and she nudged him again. With still no answer, she poked him in the ribs and he jumped. "Aha. Ticklish."

"W-W-W-Waaait... Whaaaa- What-" He only then noticed Miku. "You're awake!" He gasped, then realized he sounded too relieved. "Oh."

She blinked at him. "I... I fainted again?"

"Yeah."

Miku looked up and turned to face him, but didn't look directly at him. Somehow she had the sense that he wanted to get closer, and yet try to avoid her as much as possible. She looked at him curiously, and he caught her. Alarmed, she turned back immediately, more was even more surprised that he didn't seem to mind. A clanking sound came from outside.

"Hey wait... Where are -Get out of the way-" Mikuo said, shoving her to the side. Ah, there it was. "Let me see-"

"Wow, false alarm." She grimaced. "It's just him. Asshole alert." She cracked the back of his head, causing him to slam forward and hit the door.

He tried to slap her, but the door to their cell flung open, knocking Mikuo on the back of the head once again, and he fell forward. Miku burst out laughing. He growled at her, the two too busy to acknowledge the open escape. "YOU BI-"

A panicked-guard jumped into their cell, and the Kins stopped and turned to look at him. Miku faltered, and looked downwards. The guard stared back at them, before remembering what he had to do. It seemed like the armor on him was a hand-me-down, pulled out of a pile rather than a carefully selected piece. Looking a little shell-shocked, he managed to bark "Get over here! And, um... Hurry!" The two seemed to allow him to cuff their wrists as he dragged them away, more confused than ever.

They came to a stop in a small room, wood paneling and a afire place and all. It all seemed rather cozy. A little too cozy, something that didn't fit the mood of what she had been through. But what were they doing here? Before she opened her mouth to ask, a proud-looking woman strolled in.

Miku's ears pricked up, she recognized the woman immediately. She hissed, and another guard pushed her back. "What do you want?" The woman smiled at the two of them, and nodded at another guard. He left for a few moments returned with Kaiko, cuffed at the wrists and her pale face streaked with tears. "Kaiko! What did you do to her!?"

"Oh, poor girl." The woman stroked Kaiko's cheek, and she shivered. "Even after the truth, the reveal, you still refuse to believe, even after your eyes have shown you. You keep on trying, you keep on persisting, but why? What's the use? You show anger, but you have no strength. The anger only makes you weaker, and yet you still insist that he's still there. Why is that, dear Kappa? You monsters are so terribly hard to fathom." The woman flipped her long dark hair back, and snickered at the blue-haired girl.

"Wait... What did you do?" Miku asked in alarm, trying to struggle away, but the guards kept the two of them back. "And what does this have anything to do with the two of us!?"

"Shut up." The woman hissed at them, before turning back to Kaiko, starting to cry again. "What do your eyes tell you? The truth. But time is ticking, dear, and soon that truth will be looking at you straight in the eyes, and you'll have to say goodbye to the imagination that you've been holding on too long to. The clock ticks on, and you will soon face what you have to. You cannot stop the flow of time, even with the powers you beasts possess."

"Stop it!" Kaiko burst out, wiping her tears, trying to fight back, but in the bitterness of the tears Miku saw, she knew that reality was starting to get to her. She knew that Kaiko's small bubble of imagination would pop soon, and then she'd be completely swallowed by the loss. But of what? What had the woman done, and why were they involved in this? "I don't believe you." She started to sob, but anyone of wit could see that she was starting to believe, slowly loosing her grip on the image she wanted to believe in. "He's..."

"He's gone, my sweet." The woman slurred in her horrible, sickly-sweet voice. "Why do you fight it? It seems your time is already up."

"S-Stop it!" Kaiko cried, squeezing her eyes shut.

"No. You can't fight with me. Don't plead. I've taken what I want, and you can't get it back. I take what I will, and leave only what I don't need." She caught a tear rolling down Kaiko's cheek, and looked at it in vague disgust. "Oh, poor weak hearts, the pain, the longing you have to take, that stinging feeling that there was perhaps something that you could've done. Once I've taken my fill and drained you dry, once the last chime has died away, you'll be left with nothing but the sick reminder that time goes on... Hm?"

"What did you do?" Miku demanded, lashing out at the woman, but a guard shoved her back, and she fell onto Mikuo, who had kept his mouth shut the entire time. "What is wrong with you!?"

"And yet... You still cling on to your own image, an image you so dearly refuse to let go of, but it's slipping away. Time shall pull it away. Bring them to the cell." She waved their hand at them, and they were dragged away.

Away past a new corridor, where the stomps of the boots of guards and the howls of beasts melted away behind them, and they reached an empty cell, empty except for a lifeless body. Miku gasped in shock. It couldn't have been...

Kaiko fell silent, tears stopping as she watched the woman turn the body around.

"The obvious work of a Kin, is it not?" The lady smiled as she moved the blue-haired boy's body towards them.

* * *

**Omai**

**I-Idk what to do anymore so I had to kill someone /angry sobbing/**

**Aaaaand yeah.**

**'Tis about it.**

**Also I don't know if this is relevant, but I'm having difficulty trying to make these two act out like this, my usually defined personality for them would be Miku being a cheerful and bubbly girl and oblivious to pretty much everything, and Mikuo getting really flustered and embarrassed a lot and trying to act cool and idk ((half-tsundere?))**

**what do you call it when two people are tsun for each other**

**also I'm RPing as a Miku on Deviantart and waiting for my Mikuo to reply in a different timezone is sO FRUSTRATINGUGHGHGG**

**^ you didn't have to read that**


	7. Chapter 7

**No.**

**No.**

**Nope.**

Reviews

**pastel-chan**  
OH GOD INDEED WHAT HAS  
I don't know man  
I need help

* * *

The soldier walked steadily and faithfully along the hot, dusty path, with no-one by his side. He wrapped his hood over his dirty hair, almost reluctant to cover his face, but he knew the sun wouldn't do his skin any good at this time of the day. He marched without stopping, past the weeds and brambles, only stopping every so often to take a small gulp of water from the canteen hanging by his side. Eventually his slow and long trek led him to the front of the castle, looming before him. He found the wails and howls of the beasts inside overwhelming. How many of them were in there? What was it like being caged in such a wretched place? Shaken by this thought, he attempted to dismiss it, but it hung around in the back of his mind like it always had, and like it always would. This thought bothered him greatly, but he didn't have the time for it. As he reached the gate, two guards stepped forward and demanded who he was. "I am from the East Ones." He said simply, bowing to them. The guards, knowing who he was already, scooted to the side and let him pass.

He entered the castle to hear louder roars, the smell of the dark castle heavy and musty, like no one had cleaned for many years. From away he could hear the pitiful sobs and howls, and the rattling chains of the imprisoned. The smell of death hung in the air, as well as suffering. He wasn't used to this, but he went on. A man at a desk tapped his ink-dipped quill at his side, not bothering to look up. The soldier watched what he was doing, the ink scrawling across the paper in little squiggles that made no sense to him, as he had not been taught to read or write. He was only skilled in combat, and had no time for skills such as these, although he had always thought of attempting to learn. The soldier cleared his throat, and the man, startled, dropped the quill, letting the ink spill across the paper. When he noticed who he was, he gaped in surprise. More concern to the soldier in front of him, he stood up and bowed. "My apologies, lord." His voice quivered.

"That is fine." The solider nodded dutifully and looked around. The castle seemed awfully dark. Did they think this would tempt the beasts into converting? Would it really force them to be purified? Not wanting to think about this, he marched on, the guards letting him pass easily. Past the spiraling staircases and bangs on the wooden doors he went. He reached a large gate, from where behind came the smell of a marsh and the sounds of angry shouts. Two guards marched from the mist, dragging a monster with them. He stepped back and allowed them to pass, watching curiously.

The monster they brought with them was writhing and yelling. It was a female. Her long pink hair, damp, possibly from working in the marsh whipped by her sides, a scaly tail in place of where legs should have been. Pink hair? He faltered for a moment, wondering, but shook the thought away. He looked at her in awe. If she had not been an undeserving beast, unclean of her beliefs, she would have been rather pretty. One of the guards looked at him, and the soldier tugged on the hood that covered his hair. They nodded at each other as a brief sign of respect, and they parted.

From where they were dragging the mermaid away, the solider glanced back, and so did she. What were they called again? She hissed at him, anger spilling from her glare, no doubt she had found an instant dislike to him already. A small frown dented his face. Had she not been one of them, he would have found her beau- What was he thinking? He shook his head again, seeming to think this was the only way to rid him of these unclean thoughts, and attempted to return to his duties.

...

Kaiko turned towards the two immediately, her teary eyes widening in shock. "M-Miku…" She gasped, shaking her head, still refusing to believe. But after seeing the still body in front of them, the lifeless body of a boy she had been so close to, the bubble of imagination in her mind was very close to popping. "You…"

"It wasn't me!" Miku burst out suddenly, holding up her hands defensively, shaking her head. "Kaiko, you know I wouldn't! I wouldn't!" She looked at the woman, smirking. She seemed to have no problem standing next to a dead body. They hadn't washed or cleaned it... Him. Blood still pooled around him, clothes ripped and torn with fresh blood still oozing out, although the trickle seemed to be slowly ending. The claw marks on his skin were definitely the work of her species. She shook her head at Miku, and her eyes darted towards Mikuo instead. Miku turned. "Well then, only other one?" She hissed softly.

He only looked upset as he stared at the body. "I…" He started, and Miku sensed Kaiko tensing up. It was on his shoulders now. Whatever he said would either blow her bubble further away from the point of reality or pop it and let her fall. "I… I don't know." Or get caught in between.

Miku grabbed the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. "What do you mean you don't know!?" She demanded, pinning him down so hard she could have strangled him right there and then. Kaiko reached out and tried to stop her, but then decided it was best not to intervene. The woman smiled in agreement. "You killed him, didn't you?"

Mikuo looked down, giving up on writhing away. Her grip was strong. "I-I told you. Even if I did, I can't remember." He refused to meet her eyes as he continued talking. "But I couldn't have, and I wouldn't. I know what it is like to be bullied and threatened. Anyway, I would stay out of an Edurlan's sniffing range, and I have no idea who he is. I don't know his name and I would have never touched him. If I did, he'd kill me first."

"Kaito would not have killed anybody…" Kaiko said softly, as three pairs of eyes turned to her. She shook her head as if that would help rid of any memories of him, and she wiped her eyes. "He wouldn't even try to hurt anyone. He's not that kind of Edurlan. I've seen what they've done, but he wouldn't. For my sake, he wouldn't kill anyone right in front of me… I know it. But… Why would anyone go this far? If this is really a Kin's doing… I'm not saying it's you, Miku… I know you wouldn't either, but…"

Miku turned back to Mikuo, still squirming under her grip, but settled down abruptly as her gaze fell back on him. "That is the work of a Kin. And there are only two in existence. I didn't do it." Her hand tightened, and Mikuo started to thrash, trying to get her to release him, but she wouldn't hear of it. "So what does this make you?"

"I told you!" He spluttered, lungs running out of air. "I didn't… I… I don't know! Let me go- S-Stop… Let me go…" His demands lowered to pathetic whimpers, and Miku couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for the poor kid. She loosened her grip, but held him tight anyway, turning a blind eye – and deaf ear – to his sobbing. The woman looked at him pitifully, only with mock disgust.

"Then who was it?" She asked softly, as if to threaten, but he knew where she was going. He jerked, now trying even harder to get away from her, kicking and thrashing wildly, until Kaiko had to jump away. "Tell me." Her voice grew deeper, darker, as well as her eyes. He shook his head, eyes squeezed shut, trying to keep her away, but he failed. He caught her gaze and flinched, stopped moving as he was rooted to the spot. Again. It was happening again. But at the last second, Miku looked away, releasing him as she dropped to her knees. Kaiko ran to her.

"Are you alright?" Kaiko gaped, seemingly forgetting all about her dead counterpart. She shook Miku's arm, and the Kin nodded. "Miku, what's the matter? Are you…"

"I'm fine." Miku hissed, forcing herself up. Mikuo lay, breathless in one corner as he stared back at the girl in front of him, wondering what on earth she was. A Kin? Really? At this, the lady stepped forward, grabbing Kaiko by her scarf and wringing her away. She pushed the poor girl towards a guard where she collapsed into sobs and sniffles, crying louder and louder as she was dragged away. Miku, recovering quickly from her sudden fit, turned towards the lady, hissing angrily. She said nothing, her eyes already asking the questions. Yet the lady's slit eyes gleamed wickedly, answering these unsaid questions in even more silence, ignoring the thrashing Kappa disappearing behind the wall. She nodded at the guards, and they started to push the two into the cell alongside the dead body. "Stop!" Miku commanded, trying to pull away, but the guards overpowered her as they shoved the Kins into cell. Mikuo allowed himself to be dragged without a word.

As soon as they were in, the lady swing the door shut and bolted it, twice, and even then locked it with a fat, brass key. "There we go," she said quite smugly, holding the key in front of her face, creating the impression that she was about to swallow it. She pocketed it instead. "Perhaps a night alone with one of your victims will leave you broken down enough to talk. If not, there are a few others." Miku's face morphed into another screwed up expression of horror as the lady cackled, signalling the guards to leave. She turned away to walk with them.

"Wait! Who are you!?" Miku threw herself against the bars of the cell as she watched the lady leave. "What do you want with us? Why accuse us? What good are we to anyone?"

"Oh, not everyone... Just me. The lady smirked, her dull eyes looking suspiciously familiar. "By the way, if you really want to know, we've met. It's Hideyo."

She disappeared down the hall.

...

Luka struggled, but the bands around her arms only seemed to grow tighter, and eventually she gave up trying to get herself out of them. If only she had had legs... She looked around. The entire room was dark, and smelled of dust and blood. No windows, just a single stream of light coming from the bottom of the door, where she could hear people walking outside. The walls and the floor were all wood panels, and the room was crammed with shelves and cupboards, and she added sawdust to the scents. Talking from outside caught her attention, and she shifted her weight over, feeling a strap cut into her arm. She bit her lip and tried to sit tight. Where was she? And what did they want with her? The guards had just barged into their sector and dragged her away, with no warning at all. Luckily Gakuko had been able to dive away with the explosives. Hopefully she hadn't been taken as well. Luka sighed. She scanned the room again, trying to squint in the inky darkness, but she could hardly see a thing in front of her. Maybe Miku could have.

In front of her was a strangely-shaped table, probably carved by a beginner. It wasn't very well done, wonky, and slightly falling apart, but it still seemed strong enough to support stacks of books and several ornaments. She tilted her head to the side, trying to examine what she could see. She looked at all of them, one by one. The first one on her left appeared to be like a rattle of some sort, with to circles carved into the head, red coming down like tears painted under them. It vaguely resembled a severed head, and she shuddered, looking away to the next one.

This one appeared to be a music box. It was old and worn out, the paint on its cover was fading, and the handle rusted and nearly broken off. She wondered which child, if ever, had held it in her little palms, spinning the handle over and over just to listen to music... A human, of course. The Lumiere did not need special instruments to create music. A faint smile was brought to her face as she recalled her friends and herself splashing through the water merrily, twirling and spinning as the wind blew through their hair, raindrops fell, creating music as they danced to their own rhythm. The smile faded quickly. She didn't want to think about it.

Luka looked up, her lungs burning. _Water..._ She didn't want to think about anything, anymore.

...

Miku paced up and down the cell, mind working feverishly. Her boots stomped angrily past his body, ignoring Mikuo's, who was laying curled up in a ball in the corner. She turned around. "It wasn't me. It wasn't you. Who was it then?" She kicked softly at the ribs, and the body rolled over. She quickly turned it back. "I can't believe this..."

Mikuo sniffed. "Then why believe her?" He asked, a little too much force put into his voice. Kaiko had tried not to believe her, but her words had crashed above her fragile mind, already delicate, and had completely shattered her. "I mean... Anything could have killed him. It could have been a Succubus. A Fae. A... Anything!" Miku frowned at him. "If you're so unsure, examine the body! I bet you've killed things before, you ought to know what your own work looks like." He crossed his arms.

"Mm." Miku crouched down, turning the body over. She took his scarf and folded it around his face, and looked at the wound in his flesh. If it had not been for all the blood, she could have pictured him to be asleep. He was cold. Not death cold, but much, much colder. Below room temperature cold. Ice cold. Well, she supposed, he was an Edurlan after all. Perhaps they were always cold, even before death. The blood was everywhere, and she couldn't bear herself to look at the body for too long. Three claw marks were raked across his torso, long and deep. Miku examined them. Yes, they could have been the work of a Kin. But they might have not, either. She looked at her claws. They were sharp, but still too small to cut so deep. She might have been able to use them to penetrate flesh, but no more deeper than an inch. This looked as though it had gone through his entire body. The secene itself spoke hatred and rage, not something she would have willingly done. And Mikuo... He seemed to be growing weaker, but she still held her suspicion. She shivered, moving him to the end of the cell and covering the body in a dusty old cloth.

Mikuo looked to where she had moved him. He had been rolled up to one side of the cell, limbs still outstretched. Behind him were several crates, boxes Miku seemed to have interest in, but didn't touch them. She walked to him, and he moved over so that she had space to sit, then wondered why he did that. He wrinkled his nose as she fell onto the floor, looking exhausted. "Move him." He said slowly. "He's taking up too much space."

"Move him yourself."

"I'm not touching him."

Miku shrugged, and curled herself into a ball, indicating she didn't want to talk anymore. She looked up, catching Mikuo looking at her, and he turned away immediately. Her eyes glanced towards the body, motionless in the corner, and her lower lip trembled. Mikuo stood up suddenly, lashing out and hit a crate behind him. The box fell over, and Miku jumped away before it toppled onto her. "Stop it!" He yelled harshly. "You're such... Why? First you're this bitchy dark Kitsune who can't handle a thing, and then you've got this smug-ass grin on your face, then you're all happy, and cute, and-"

"You think I'm cute?" She could hear the disbelief in her voice.

"I d-" Mikuo paused, then realized what he said, his face flushing. "Damnit..." He crawled back, looking defeated. Miku sat at the other end of the cell, looking equally as tired, rubbing her eyes. She looked down at her feet, one pointing towards the body. She scrunched up her nose.

"You didn't do it, did you?"

"I wouldn't touch him."

She couldn't tell if that was supposed to mean a good thing or bad thing. "Fine."

He seemed surprised. "What? You're not going to argue against that?" He tried to taunt her, but too much relief poured into his words, and she didn't take the provoke.

"I dunno." She shrugged. "Shit's just all messed up now. I have no idea what's going on. I just..." She looked towards the body, laying tangled in the mess of scarves and papers fallen from the boxes they had knocked over. "... I don't think either of us did it... Do you?"

He opened his mouth to shoot back with a "I bet you did." But as he looked up at her, bruised and hurt, trembling in a corner, looking more like a pained child than she ever did, he... "Oh this is just great." He groaned angrily, kicking the box in front of him away. More papers spilled out, but he moved them away as well. He scratched the back of his head, glancing at the body. "I don't think you did it."

Oh - perfect, the most reassuring thing he could've come up with at the moment. But he supposed it was better than nothing. "Really." Miku replied, with hardly a hint of belief in her voice.

"Look, I'm trying to be... I'm..." He growled in replace of trying to come up with the right words. 'Nice' couldn't have been one of them. "I just... I..." He gave up. "I'm sorry." This time, Miku looked up. The belief completely gone, she just stared at him with wide eyes. Her round, large eyes filled with only curiosity and surprise, and the innocence of a child. He shuddered, trying not to meet them. "I'm freaking sorry, okay? Goddamn it..."

Miku looked down at the floor, stained with red blotches, most of them trailing towards the body. "That's new." She mumbled, something moving in her voice. A laugh? She turned towards the window outside of the cell, where the sun was already gone. There were still red streaks in the sky, but most of it had gone dark. The Kin frowned, trying to recall what Luka and Gakuko had said. The fifth moon of... What? When? She frowned.

"You're thinking too hard. You look like your head is going to explode."

She ignored him as she followed the shape of the moon, the stars, the clouds. Tonight... She turned towards Mikuo. "We've been dragging this on too long." She said firmly, forcing herself up. He looked at her curiously. "Whether you're coming or not, I'm escaping tonight."

...

A candle was lit. The small light showed only a wicked reflection of the lady's face as her slit eyes gleamed with madness. From what Luka could see, red blotches stained her grinning face, pulled up into a menacing smile. "And what are you supposed to be, good lady, a mad doctor?" Her eyes flicked to the second silhouette. "Oh, oh, a female mad doctor and her maid, right?"

"Curious." A male voice chuckled as the second figure stepped into the light. His eyes were bright blue, but the black hood covered most of his hair. From what she could see, it looked like dark red.

"The hell are you?"

"Don't speak to the East Ones like that." Hideyo snapped, slamming her fist onto the table. It wobbled, and there was a crack. The rattle lying on the edge of the table bounced and rolled, landing next to Luka's fin. The lady, eyes now shining with untold anger, forced herself to relax, her arms no longer tensed. "I am sorry, but this is how uncivilized these beasts are."

"Not a problem." He placed a heavy hand on her shoulder, and she nearly flinched. Luka snorted in laughter, and the woman glowered at her. He whispered something to her, and her arms tensed up again, looking agitated. Her eyes, seemingly mirroring her emotions were now filled with grudge and spite, but after a while she calmed herself down and nodded. She left the room, leaving Luka alone with the man. "So... You are a Lumiere?"

The way he talked did not amuse her. "No, I'm a freaking Kin!" She spat.

He arched an eyebrow, looking confused. "Kins are extinct."

"Shouldn't you be instead?"

He chuckled, his laughter intimidating, yet soothing to her. But... "You're still as stubborn as you were before. He looked away for a moment, Luka beginning to struggle in her straps again. He turned back to her. "Let me introduce myself."

Luka stopped struggling, looking at him angrily, more hatred then ever pouring towards him, mind too agitated to register what he had just said. "Oh, there's no need." She said coolly, but anger shook her voice. I bet you're the one who ordered the guards to take me away, screaming and thrashing down the hallway, stuffed me into a dark room full of dust and these pieces of shit-" She gestured to the ornaments on the table. "-And without water - don't expect me to last too long - and you even strap me down to a chair? Oh, you don't need to introduce yourself, because I know exactly who you are. A worthless, annoying, goddess-believing One. A human."

"My, my. You were always a timid one before. I'm surprised at how much you've changed, Luka."

She froze he strode towards her, his gentle blue eyes suddenly striking fear into her. How did he... He smiled at her as he removed the hood, tufts of pink hair catching the light. "It's been quite a while, my dear Lumiere."

* * *

**Nope. Nope. Nopenopenopenope-**


	8. Chapter 8

**Yes.**

**Yes I did.**

* * *

_"Devil spawn!"_

_"Witch courtier!"_

_"Beast keeper!"_

_The poor boy tried to deflect, but the blows kept on coming. The devastating hits rained down upon him, yet he let out not a sound, taking the brutal punishment pounding with a quiet deviance. He tumbled backwards into the pond, but they didn't stop there. His pursuers pulled him back up, kicking, punching him in the stomach, the rib cage, the throat, but he accepted everything without a word. He didn't weep, cry, or wail, he simply allowed them to do what they wanted. Finally, after what seemed like so many hours, they left him laying in the rubble, still mumbling insults as they left him. __Luki wiped his eyes, and along with the tears came blood. He stood up, scarred legs wobbling. It was a good thing they hadn't broken any of his bones. He fell against a tree and started to cry. His clothes were torn and bloodied. But he knew why they did this. And he understood. And he didn't argue._

_Nobody wanted him. Everybody, all the townsfolk, they hated him, they despised him. They had thrown him out of town after they had found out what he had done. Even his parents looked down at him with disgust, claiming they no longer had a son. All his friends had immediately turned on him, bullying and tormenting him every day. He was kicked out of his house, left to roam the streets, but every being refused to look at him. What they had said, it was true, somewhat. He was a beast keeper. Not really a witch courtier, but he knew what they meant. He had befriended a monster, and now he was going to be sucked up into the Unbeliefs. The rules of the Devil, everybody believed. They had bullied, tortured, tried to kill him, but he had withstood. Yet he knew his protests were failing him. He couldn't keep up any longer. He was on the verge of breaking, the brink of turning mad._

_Luki hobbled through the dark forest, pushing past trees and foliage, until he found what he was looking for. The place only he knew, the place everyone had shunned him for knowing. He almost regretted finding this place. But he knew what he had to do. He crept closer to the edge of the lake, where he could hear the merry laughter of a little girl as she splashed in the water. But this was not just a little girl. He edged closer, and she came into view. Not exactly as he had imagined, but she would have to do. There was no one else. Long hair spiraled around her as she turned in the water, splashing continuously, unaware of her fate. He gripped his knife tighter._

_The girl barely had time to scream as he leapt into the lake._

_"Father, mother, look! Look! Look at what I've done!" The boy ran up to his parents, his wet feet marking the ground as he ran. He showed them what he held in his arms, and they smiled. "I did it, father! Mother, I've done it!"_

_The parents beamed. "You're a clever boy, Luki, I always knew you were." The man crouched down to pat his son on the head, and tried to get a look at what he held. "You truly are my son. Come, we must show the Elder."_

_He nodded enthusiastically, and watched his parents chatter excitedly as they started to walk away. As soon as they couldn't see him, his face morphed into sadness, and he looked down at the lifeless one in his arms. He had closed her eyes, so she looked like she was asleep. But he knew she wasn't. Blood still dripped from her missing arm, and it stained his shirt. His face, clothes and limbs were covered in red splatters, but under the dripping liquid he wore a a frown. This wasn't what he wanted. He held her closer to him, kissing her forehead as he began to clean her face. Covering it with most of her hair, he began to walk after his parents. The dead Lumiere hung limply in his arms._

_..._

"I had no choice." He said harshly, trying to keep himself calm. "They would have killed you if not me. They shunned me. But you weren't there, no. Not like how I was. They despised me, they loathed me. But I knew you had a sister. It was the only thing I could do. I am sorry, Luka."

"You killed her!" She screamed, tears pouring from her eyes, dripping down her pale face. "You killed her and you deserve to die the same, horrible death! I never should have trusted you! I should never have allowed you to see me! I should have killed myself then as well! You're the monster, Luki!"

His jaw tightened, and it seemed like he was doing all he could to prevent himself from reaching forward and slapping her. He only sighed sadly. "I truly am sorry, Luka. I was an idiot. I was a child. But I just wanted to be accepted. You know how we are - we feel we need to belong to someone. I'm sorry that humans were created like this. But it has been done. And I wanted to be taken back in, and the only way to do it was to kill Lulu." He took a breath, avoiding Luka's teary eyes. "I will do whatever I can to make it up to you."

"You killed my sister." Luka whispered, her voice quivering with rage. "There is no way you can make it up to me. You must die and burn in the depths of Hell, may I never see you again." She coughed, feeling her throat. "I don't care if I die along with you. If you make it downwards, maybe I could rest in peace. Why did you come here?" She demanded. Luki crouched down next to her, and if she hadn't been strapped down so tightly, or maybe if she could get a little water down her dry throat, maybe she would have used her tail to slap him across the face.

"I have come on the orders of my master." He said solemnly. "They request I find the Dark Kitsune, and dispose of them. Apparently they are a threat to our beliefs, and we must rid of them at all cost. I have heard that one resides here."

Luka took in a sharp breath. Mikuo? Or Miku? If he killed one of them... "There are no Ki- Dark Kitsunes here." Luka said firmly, but her voice cracked. She looked around desperately. She wouldn't last long without water. Not this long. She was pushing her limit. Sure, she could survive on land, but locked up in a room like this? Her skin was starting to dry out, and her tail now felt weak and useless. "You're an idiot, Luki. To believe them. Anything. You shouldn't have... Agh-" She coughed, and blood splattered onto the floor.

Luki looked at it in shock. He stood up, and walked around to the back of the room. Luka lay against the chair, too weak to argue. Luki returned with a pitcher of water. "Drink."

She shook her head weakly. "No." She coughed blood again, and Luki grasped her face, forcing her to swallow the water he poured down her throat. She gasped and spluttered, and he stopped. "I wish you never existed." She spat, wiping her mouth as she glared at him bitterly.

He only looked at her sadly. "Come. I'll take you back to your zone."

"Ha! Y-You... Wish..!" Luki said nothing. He untied her straps and lifted her up. Luka pushed away from him. "Hey! Stop! Let go of me, you lug! I can walk! I'm not as stupid as you are!" She continued shooting insults as the soldier carried her away.

...

"Fifth Moon."

"Are you sure?"

"Do I look unsure?"

"Sort o-"

"Shut up."

Miku watched the moon. It was nearly time. Surely Luka and Gakuko would've finished making the explosives by now. And they would have found a way to send them to her cell. Even if she wasn't in her cell, it would come to her, one way or another. But why was it taking so long? She frowned. Any time now, clouds would break through the corridors of the castle, put the guards to sleep. As the limp bodies fell, they would make their way out, and perhaps, be free. If they could fight through the village, of course, but that wouldn't be a problem. She just had to wait.

"This is a waste of time." Mikuo sounded, swinging his legs. He was seated on one of the highest stacked crates, looking down at her like she was a commoner and he a king. "There's no way they can pull off something that big. I'm not going to spend the rest of the night on guard. I'm tired."

"Then sleep and stay imprisoned." Miku said quietly, but something in her tone told him it wasn't meant as a threaten. Did she want him to escape with her?

"Look, even if they do manage to make it, how can you be so sure it'll-"

A scream cut him off.

Miku jumped to her feet immediately, grabbing the bars of the cell and looking out. Her ears twitched feverishly, but she couldn't detect anything after that. Mikuo bounded up next to her, and they both looked out of the cell, wondering what had happened. The scream... It wasn't very high-pitched, so she reckoned it belonged to a man. She didn't know they could scream. But it wasn't a guards. If they had fallen, the sounds of armour hitting the ground would've caught her ears. But this was silent. And the scream had gotten cut off too, like they didn't have time. Who was it?

"I think... Was that...?" Mikuo frowned. "That guy with the purple hair? Couldn't be... I always knew he was a drama queen, but..." He turned, and he got his nose into Miku's hair. In surprise, he flinched, and stumbled backwards, shocked at how he hadn't realized how close he had been pressing up to her. She looked at him in equal astonishment, but shook her head and turned back.

"That is it!" A voice exploded, as Hideyo burst into the room. What seemed to be her normally calm and pleasant demeanor slowly changed and her face contorted in an all - consuming anger; her nostrils flaring, her eyes flashing and closing into slits, her mouth quivering and drooling, slurring words that were unintelligible came spewing into space like a volcano releasing its pent up emotions into the darkness. Her loud, booming voice seemingly shook the room. "I don't know how you're doing it!" She screeched, voice reverberated long after she finished speaking. "But I have had about enough with your useless tricks!"

"What are you talking about?" Mikuo demanded, stomping back up to her,

"I have no use for you two any longer!" She cried, completely ignoring their protests. "Take them to the Ice Zone, may they freeze to death!"

...

"He's dead."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

Len pressed his fingers against the man's neck, but he could no longer feel the heat pulsating within the body. "Nope. He's completely gone." He looked at the claw marks and shuddered. "And I don't want to think of what made him... Gone."

Gakuko watched from her window of the cell. She looked at him, laying, motionless over a pool of blood on the floor, helpless and terrified. She had always thought that muscles relaxed after death, since the brain stopped working, yet the horrified expression remained frozen on his face. As if someone had frozen him there. But that was impossible. No monsters with the capability to control ice or weather lived in their part of the castle, and magic could not be used here, anyway. He must've have been so shocked his muscles refused to let him relax. He would be stuck with the grotesque expression forever. He must've seen something horrible. So terrifying, he would never be calmed down. She slumped to the floor. _He wasn't that bad._ She thought regretfully. _Sure, he was an asshole, but..._ Her shoulders shook, and she decided not to think about it.

As she heard the guards bring away the two Solins from the other cell, she wondered what happened to Luka. Guards had barged in and demanded for her. She had grabbed all the jars and swung them away before the guards arrived, but several broke, and most got lost in the murky water. Maybe the other Lumiere could find them. Maybe something could be done.

The smell of decay had already began to waft into her cell, and she scrunched up her nose. She hated being near dead people that weren't preserved. Of course she had been near one - plenty, actually. She had lost of count of all the bodies she had dragged into her lake, until one of them had regained consciousness and fought back. And just her luck. It was a One. She turned over, her hair falling over her shoulders. Who killed him? How had they gotten away so easily? Why did she feel involved in this?

Hah! She wasn't, now was she? It wasn't her fault he was dead. Let him rot. Just not next to her. But... Still. She wanted to find out. She had heard him scream, but even though she jumped to the window as fast as she could, it seemed the murderer was gone. There were no footprints. No fingerprints. No weapons. It couldn't have been a human. It must have been one of them. But how had they escaped the cell? How had they found the time to kill a man and vanish? And how had they have been killing one after another, without getting caught?

Questions continued to rain upon her, but she wasn't interested anymore. She looked out the window. _Fifth Moon..._ If only they didn't have to wait.

...

And the snow just kept on falling. Miku brushed the snow off her nose, and frowned. A new definition of evil formed in her kind: Anybody who made her hate something that she loved. She remembered the first time she had played in snow. She had had fun. But now? Anything but. She wanted to get out. Kins were used to snow, but in a room at this temperature, she knew neither would last long. She looked at Mikuo, curled up in one corner, freezing but fascinated. Like he'd never seen anything like it before. She had been in snow before. Maybe she would last longer than him. Right. Now snow would only symbolize the last harrowing moments leading up to their death. She looked down at the wooden boards she as seated upon, stacked up so she could prevent the frostbite from getting at her. She knew better than him. He could've dropped dead right then and there. The snow was already about three inches deep. Mikuo looked up at the falling snow, seeming amazed, and yet disgusted by it. "Never seen snow before?"

The fascination on his face turned into an annoyed frown. "No." He admitted grudgingly. "I mean... I've seen snow before, but I... I never actually got to play in it. N-Not that I want to. I just... I always worked in the heated area of the zones, and when it was snow out I was just forced to stay in the cell. I... I know... It's actually... I thought it was really pretty... But... Up close it's kind of... Disturbing."

"Hah. Well, you got that right." Miku rubbed her arms. She looked at him, rubbing his runny nose. No, he wouldn't last long here. Neither of them would ever escape the cold clutches of the snow, unless they escaped first, of course. She looked around them, the never-ending landscape of snow, something she didn't dare trek through. They wouldn't escape. If someone came to rescue them... She looked up hopefully. But who would find them? The coldness and seeped into her skin, blocking out her hearing and stuffing her nose. They wouldn't last long enough to wait for someone to snatch them away before they froze to death. But the only way to survive was...

Though beautiful, the snow was cold and sharp as it bit at their fingers and the wind kissed their cheeks. Like a wolf the snow bit at them with its sharp icy teeth, and Miku tensed up. _Let him die_. Was her first thought, but if she wanted to stay alive.. She looked at him, biting her lip. _I want to live. But..._

Mikuo jerked. He stumbled sideways, nearly toppling into the snow, but Miku caught his arm and pulled it back onto the board. "Wh-What are you doing!?" He spluttered, trying to push away from her.

She only gripped his arm tighter. "Shut up. Do you want to live or not? Obviously you don't know a thing, so be grateful that I'm here to save your sorry butt from the frost."

"B-But-" Mikuo gave up. The heat in his cheeks was enough to warm him up for a long time, but how close she was... His face flushed radish red and he looked at his feet, hoping she wouldn't notice. He would've preferred to die right then and there. Crawl into a hole and never be seen again. Instead, he shifted his weight over and felt her lean against him, and his face deepened a shade. Why? Of all places, why a frozen hell hole? Maybe if it was a heated desert- He paused, then shuddered. Okay, not a good idea.

She had spread a canvas over them, small but just the right size to cover them both. Eventually he began to feel drowsy, feeling her smooth hair as he leaned his head downwards. The tips of her ears tickled his nose, but he didn't care. He was already drifting off, warmed to the heat of her body where she just... Melted into him. He closed his eyes, the noise of the snow falling stopping around him. For one reason or another, he felt safe and comfortable, leaning against her, warmth spreading into him like a fire.

For a moment, just that moment, the feeling that had constantly gnawed at him gave him peace, and he just wanted it to last f-

"What-"

"What-!?"

Miku pushed him away, and Mikuo tumbled back into the snow, landing with a soft thud. The wetness spilled into his ears and fell over him, and he jumped up quickly. "Wh-What the hell!?" He shouted, standing up and backing away. "What was that for!?"

"Uh... Did I-"

Rinto stepped back as the two Kins shot him sour looks.

* * *

**Oh ok**


End file.
